German Greetings and Polite Words
Updated July 6, 2026
The most common German greetings are hallo (hello), guten Tag (good day), guten Morgen (good morning), and guten Abend (good evening), with tschüss for a casual goodbye. Here they are with the everyday polite words you will use alongside them.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| hallo | hello |
| guten Tag | good day |
| guten Morgen | good morning |
| guten Abend | good evening |
| auf Wiedersehen | goodbye |
| tschüss | bye |
| wie geht's? | how are you? |
| bitte | please |
| danke | thank you |
| ja | yes |
| nein | no |
Want these to stick? Hear them in real context: LingoBinge surfaces words like these while you watch German shows on Netflix, and saves them for spaced review.
Hear them in: How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast), We Are the Wave.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say hello in German?
- The all-purpose hello is hallo. More formally you say guten Tag (good day), and among friends tschüss is a casual goodbye. Guten Morgen and guten Abend cover morning and evening.
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