🎯 Situation

You've just arrived in Germany. Walking into a shop, meeting a neighbour, or talking to a member of staff — you need to know how to greet people and say goodbye properly. These are the first and most important phrases!

📋 Sample phrases

Greetings

German	Pronunciation (IPA)	English
Guten Morgen	/ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈmɔʁɡn̩/	Good morning
Guten Tag	/ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈtaːk/	Hello (daytime)
Guten Abend	/ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈʔaːbn̩t/	Good evening
Hallo	/haˈloː/	Hi (informal)
Grüß Gott	/ɡʁyːs ˈɡɔt/	Hello (Southern Germany)

Goodbyes

German	Pronunciation (IPA)	English
Tschüss	/tʃʏs/	Bye (informal)
Auf Wiedersehen	/aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌzeːən/	Goodbye (polite)
Bis morgen	/bɪs ˈmɔʁɡn̩/	See you tomorrow
Bis bald	/bɪs ˈbalt/	See you soon
Gute Nacht	/ˈɡuːtə ˈnaxt/	Good night

Basic politeness

German	Pronunciation (IPA)	English
Danke	/ˈdaŋkə/	Thank you
Danke schön	/ˈdaŋkə ˈʃøːn/	Thank you very much
Bitte	/ˈbɪtə/	Please / You're welcome
Entschuldigung	/ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡʊŋ/	Excuse me / Sorry
Wie geht es Ihnen?	/viː ˈɡeːt ɛs ˈʔiːnən/	How are you? (polite)
Mir geht es gut	/miːɐ̯ ˈɡeːt ɛs ˈɡuːt/	I'm fine

💬 Sample dialogues

Dialogue 1: Meeting a neighbour in the morning

A: Guten Morgen! (Good morning!)

B: Guten Morgen! Wie geht es Ihnen? (Good morning! How are you?)

A: Mir geht es gut, danke. Und Ihnen? (I'm fine, thank you. And you?)

B: Auch gut, danke! Tschüss! (Fine too, thanks! Bye!)

Dialogue 2: Walking into a shop

Staff: Guten Tag! (Hello!)

You: Guten Tag! (Hello!)

(After finishing the purchase)

Staff: Danke schön! Auf Wiedersehen! (Thank you very much! Goodbye!)

You: Danke! Tschüss! (Thank you! Bye!)

Dialogue 3: Apologizing for taking a wrong turn

You: Entschuldigung! (Excuse me!)

German person: Ja, bitte? (Yes, can I help you?)

You: Danke, danke! (Thank you, thank you!)

ℹ️ 📌 Quick memory tips

"Guten" = good. Combine it with a time of day: Morgen (morning), Tag (day), Abend (evening).
"Danke" /ˈdaŋkə/ — the final -ke is a soft, unstressed "kuh", not a hard English "kay". Say it quickly: DAHN-kuh.
"Tschüss" /tʃʏs/ begins with the same sound as the "ch" in English "church" — short and snappy, just like a quick "bye"!
Germans always greet when entering and leaving a shop. Don't forget to say Guten Tag when you walk in!

ℹ️ 🔗 Next step

Already know how to say hello? Next, learn how to introduce yourself in the lesson Introducing Yourself - Sich vorstellen.

Want to study more thoroughly? Check out Lesson 1 - Guten Tag in the A1 program.