A1 Phrases
Greetings are the first German you’ll use and the first thing people notice. Get them right and conversations start warmly; get them slightly wrong and you’ll still be understood, but you might sound stiff or overly casual. The tricky part is that German greetings change with the time of day, the level of formality and even the region: the same hello can be Guten Tag in Berlin, Moin in Hamburg, Grüß Gott in Munich and Servus in Vienna. Below are the main greetings in tables, plus regional variations, goodbyes and a bit of etiquette.
Quick answer
The most common German greetings are Hallo (hello, informal), Guten Morgen (good morning), Guten Tag (good day, formal) and Guten Abend (good evening). Regional favorites include Moin in the north, Grüß Gott and Servus in Bavaria and Austria, and Grüezi in Switzerland. To say goodbye, use Tschüss (casual) or Auf Wiedersehen (formal).
This hub is part of our complete guide to German phrases. Each greeting below links to a lesson that covers it in depth.
Formal Greetings
Use formal greetings with strangers, in shops and offices, with older people and in professional settings, basically anyone you’d address as Sie. They follow the time of day:
| Greeting | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|
| Guten Morgen | Good morning | until about 10–11 a.m. |
| Guten Tag | Good day / Hello | from late morning to about 6 p.m. |
| Guten Abend | Good evening | from about 6 p.m. |
| Herzlich willkommen | A warm welcome | welcoming guests, events |
| Grüß Gott | Hello (lit. “greet God”) | formal and everyday in the south |
Guten Tag is the classic all-purpose formal greeting; read the full story in Guten Tag meaning. Add a name or title to sound extra polite: Guten Tag, Frau Schneider!
Guten Morgen! Ich habe um neun Uhr einen Termin.Good morning! I have an appointment at nine.
Guten Abend, haben Sie noch einen Tisch für zwei?Good evening, do you still have a table for two?
Gute Nacht is not a greeting: Gute Nacht (good night) is only used when someone is going to bed or you’re leaving late at night. To say hello in the evening, use Guten Abend. More in good night in German.
Informal Greetings
With friends, family, classmates and people your age, keep it simple:
| Greeting | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Hallo! | Hello! | neutral; works almost everywhere |
| Hi! / Hey! | Hi! / Hey! | casual, younger people |
| Na? | Hey, how’s it going? | very casual, often a greeting and a question in one |
| Morgen! | Morning! | short for Guten Morgen, colleagues and friends |
| Tag! / Tach! | Hi! | short for Guten Tag, casual |
| Grüß dich! | Hi there! (lit. “greet you”) | friendly, especially in the south |
| Hallöchen! | Hi there! | playful, cute |
Hallo is the safest choice if you’re unsure: it’s fine with friends, in shops and even in many workplaces. With people you know well, it’s natural to follow up with how are you in German: Hallo! Wie geht’s?
Regional Greetings (Moin, Servus, Grüß Gott)
German-speaking countries have strong regional greeting habits, and using the local one is a quick way to win smiles.
| Greeting | Where | Formality | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moin! / Moin moin! | Northern Germany (Hamburg, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein) | casual to neutral | used all day, not only in the morning |
| Servus! | Bavaria, Austria | casual | means both hello and goodbye |
| Grüß Gott! | Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Austria | neutral to formal | the polite standard in the south |
| Griaß di! / Griaß eich! | Bavaria, Austria | casual | dialect: “greet you” / “greet you all” |
| Grüezi! / Grüezi mitenand! | Switzerland | polite | to one person / to a group |
| Hoi! / Sali! | Switzerland | casual | between friends |
| Mahlzeit! | Offices across Germany | casual | around lunchtime; literally “mealtime” |
Moin comes from Low German and probably means “good” or “nice”, not “morning”, which is why northerners happily say it at 8 p.m. Servus comes from Latin (servus = “your servant”). For more on southern varieties, see what language is spoken in Austria.
Don’t overdo the dialect
Using Moin in Hamburg or Grüß Gott in Munich sounds friendly. Using Moin in Munich, or Griaß di in Berlin, can sound like a joke. When in doubt, Hallo or Guten Tag work everywhere.
Saying Goodbye
Greetings have a mirror image: goodbyes. The essentials:
| Goodbye | Register |
|---|---|
| Auf Wiedersehen | formal |
| Auf Wiederhören | formal, on the phone |
| Tschüss | neutral, everyday |
| Ciao | casual |
| Bis bald / Bis später / Bis morgen | neutral, “see you” |
| Schönen Tag noch | polite, shops and services |
| Servus / Baba | regional, casual |
For 14 goodbyes with pronunciation and dialogues, see goodbye in German, and for the useful “see you” phrases, read bis morgen, bis später, bis bald.
How Are You? Answers
After Hallo, people you know may ask Wie geht’s? (How are you?) or, formally, Wie geht es Ihnen? Here are the quick answers:
| Answer | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Gut, danke. Und dir? | Good, thanks. And you? (informal) |
| Sehr gut, danke. Und Ihnen? | Very good, thanks. And you? (formal) |
| Es geht. | So-so. |
| Nicht so gut. | Not so good. |
Remember that in German-speaking countries, Wie geht’s? is a real question, and people expect an actual answer. And when someone thanks you for asking, a little Danke schön goes a long way.
Greeting Etiquette
- Handshakes are common in professional and formal settings, with eye contact and a firm (not crushing) grip. Among friends, a hug is common; cheek kisses are less common than in France or Italy.
- Greet when you enter small shops, waiting rooms, bakeries and sometimes lifts: a quick Guten Tag or Hallo (and Tschüss when you leave) is expected.
- Titles matter in formal contexts: Guten Tag, Herr Dr. Müller.
- Du or Sie? Use Sie with strangers and at work until someone offers du. With children, students and young people in casual settings, du is standard.
- Group greetings: Hallo zusammen! (Hello everyone!) or, formally, Guten Morgen, meine Damen und Herren.
Why greetings are worth over-learning
Greetings happen in the first seconds of a conversation, when your nerves are highest and your working memory is busiest. Over-learning a few greetings until they’re automatic frees your mind to listen to what comes next. That small win also sets a positive emotional tone, and positive first moments make people more patient with your German for the rest of the conversation.
FAQs
What are the most common German greetings?
Hallo, Guten Morgen, Guten Tag and Guten Abend. In the north you’ll hear Moin, in the south Grüß Gott and Servus.
How do you say hello in German formally?
Guten Tag (or Guten Morgen / Guten Abend depending on the time), ideally with the person’s surname: Guten Tag, Herr Weber.
What does Moin mean?
It’s a northern German greeting used all day long, from casual to neutral situations. It probably comes from a Low German word for “good”.
Is Servus hello or goodbye?
Both. In Bavaria and Austria, Servus works as an informal hello and goodbye.
How do you greet a group in German?
Hallo zusammen! (informal) or Guten Tag zusammen / meine Damen und Herren (formal).
Conclusion
German greetings follow three simple choices: the time of day (Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend), the level of formality (Hallo or Guten Tag, Tschüss or Auf Wiedersehen) and the region (Moin, Grüß Gott, Servus, Grüezi). Learn the standard set first, add your local greeting, and remember to greet when you walk into a shop. Then follow the links above to practise each phrase in depth, starting with the question that usually follows hello.
Sources and further reading: DWDS: Moin, DWDS: Servus, Duden and the Goethe-Institut.
Keep learning → How are you in German? Wie geht’s and 10 ways to answer
