Introduction to Greetings
In this lesson, we'll explore basic German greetings. Let's start with "Hello". The most common way to say "Hello" is:
Another common way to say "Hello" or "Hi" is:
Guten Tag is more formal and literally means "Good day". You can use it in most situations. There are other greetings that are dependent on the time of the day.
For "Good morning", you can say:
And for "Good evening", you can say:
These greetings are useful to greet someone at different times of the day.
Basic Farewells
Now, let’s look at how to say goodbye. The most common way to say "Goodbye" is:
Another way to say goodbye, which is a bit more formal is:
You can also use Bis bald, which means "See you soon".
Introducing Yourself
Now that you know some basic greetings and farewells, let's learn how to introduce yourself. The common way to say "My name is..." in German is:
You would replace the "..." with your name. For example, if your name is "John," you would say: Ich heiße John.
To ask someone "What is your name?", you can say:
This is the formal way of asking someone their name. There is also an informal way to ask. This is:
The difference is the use of Sie, which is used for formal "you", and du, which is used for informal "you". Wie means "how" and heißt is a form of the verb "to be called".
Asking Simple Personal Questions
Let's learn how to ask someone how they are doing. You can ask:
This is the formal way of asking "How are you?" There is also the informal way of asking:
To respond that you are doing well, you can say: Mir geht es gut, which means "I'm doing well". Mir means "to me" and gut means "good".
And if you want to say that you are not doing well you can say:
nicht means "not".