Greetings & Goodbyes

German Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 1 · Greetings & Goodbyes

👋 Greetings & Goodbyes — Begrüßungen und Verabschiedungen

Your very first German conversations: saying hello and goodbye, asking how someone is, being polite, and choosing between the formal and informal way to speak. No German needed — everything is spelled out for you, including how to say it.

🔊 How to Say It — Aussprache

German is spelled much more consistently than English. Learn these few sounds and you can read almost any word aloud. Each phrase below also comes with a pronunciation guide — CAPITALS show the stressed part.

ei = "eye" (nein) ie = "ee" (bitte, Wiedersehen) eu / äu = "oy" (neu) w = "v" (Wie = vee) v = usually "f" (Vater) z = "ts" (Zeit) s before a vowel = "z" (sehr) sch = "sh" (schlecht) sp / st at the start = "shp / sht" (sprechen) ch = a soft breathy sound (ich) or a throaty one (noch) ä = "eh" (später) ö = "ur", lips rounded (schön) ü = "ee" with lips rounded (tschüss) ß = "ss" (Grüß Gott) j = "y" (ja)

💬 Six Short Conversations — Gespräche

Read each one aloud, using the pronunciation line. Speaking out loud, even alone, is the fastest way to make these phrases feel natural.

① Good Morning (formal) — Guten Morgen

A: Guten Morgen, Frau Weber! GOO-ten MOR-gen, frow VAY-ber Good morning, Mrs Weber!

B: Guten Morgen! Wie geht es Ihnen? GOO-ten MOR-gen! vee gayt es EE-nen Good morning! How are you?

A: Sehr gut, danke. Und Ihnen? zair goot, DAHN-kuh. oont EE-nen Very well, thank you. And you?

B: Auch gut, danke. owkh goot, DAHN-kuh Also well, thank you.

② Meeting a Friend (informal) — Hallo!

A: Hallo, Anna! Wie geht's? HAH-lo, AH-nah! vee GAYTS Hello, Anna! How's it going?

B: Hallo, Tom! Super, danke. Und dir? HAH-lo, tom! ZOO-per, DAHN-kuh. oont DEER Hello, Tom! Great, thanks. And you?

A: Es geht. Nicht so gut. es GAYT. nikht zo GOOT So-so. Not so good.

③ Afternoon & Evening — Guten Tag, Guten Abend

A: Guten Tag, Herr Schmidt. GOO-ten TAHK, hair SHMIT Good day, Mr Schmidt.

B: Guten Tag, Frau Keller. GOO-ten TAHK, frow KEL-ler Good day, Mrs Keller.

A: Guten Abend! Schön, Sie zu sehen. GOO-ten AH-bent! SHURN, zee tsoo ZAY-en Good evening! Nice to see you. (later that day)

④ Please, Thanks & Sorry — Bitte, Danke, Entschuldigung

A: Oh, Entschuldigung! oh, ent-SHUL-dee-goong Oh, sorry! / Excuse me!

B: Kein Problem! kine pro-BLAYM No problem!

A: Bitte schön. — Danke schön! BIT-tuh SHURN — DAHN-kuh SHURN Here you go / please. — Thank you very much!

B: Gern geschehen. GAIRN geh-SHAY-en You're welcome. (literally "gladly happened")

⑤ Formal Goodbye — Auf Wiedersehen

A: Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Braun! owf VEE-der-zay-en, hair BROWN Goodbye, Mr Braun!

B: Auf Wiedersehen! Einen schönen Tag noch! owf VEE-der-zay-en! EYE-nen SHUR-nen TAHK nokh Goodbye! Have a nice day!

A: Danke, gleichfalls! DAHN-kuh, GLYKH-fahls Thanks, likewise!

⑥ Casual Goodbye & Good Night — Tschüss, Gute Nacht

A: Tschüss, Max! Bis morgen! tshüss, MAX! biss MOR-gen Bye, Max! See you tomorrow!

B: Tschüss! Mach's gut! tshüss! MAHKHS GOOT Bye! Take care!

A: Gute Nacht, Lisa! Schlaf gut! GOO-tuh NAHKHT, LEE-zah! SHLAHF GOOT Good night, Lisa! Sleep well!

B: Danke, du auch! DAHN-kuh, doo OWKH Thanks, you too!

🗝️ Key Phrases at a Glance — Wichtige Sätze

The formal way (with Sie) is for strangers, shops, hotels, work and anyone older; the informal way (with du) is for friends, family, children and people your own age in relaxed settings.

Situation	Formal	Informal
Hello (morning)	Guten Morgen	Guten Morgen / Morgen!
Hello (daytime)	Guten Tag	Hallo / Tag!
Hello (evening)	Guten Abend	Guten Abend / Hallo
How are you?	Wie geht es Ihnen?	Wie geht's? / Wie geht es dir?
Fine, thanks. And you?	Gut, danke. Und Ihnen?	Gut, danke. Und dir?
Goodbye	Auf Wiedersehen	Tschüss / Bis später / Bis morgen

Answering "How are you?"	Pronunciation	Meaning
Super!	ZOO-per	Great!
Sehr gut.	zair GOOT	Very good.
Gut, danke.	GOOT, DAHN-kuh	Good, thanks.
Es geht.	es GAYT	So-so. / It's OK.
Nicht so gut.	nikht zo GOOT	Not so good.
Schlecht.	shlekht	Bad.

Sie or du? — The Formal / Informal Split German has two words for "you". Sie (always with a capital S, and paired with Ihnen in "Wie geht es Ihnen?") is polite and formal; du (with dir in "Und dir?") is friendly and informal. English has just "you", so this is new — but the rule of thumb is simple: when in doubt, use Sie. Nobody is offended by being addressed too politely, and if a German wants you to switch to du, they'll offer it ("Wir können uns duzen").

🆘 Survival Phrases — Wenn Sie etwas nicht verstehen

Four phrases every beginner needs. You'll use them in every chapter of this course.

German	Pronunciation	English
Ich verstehe nicht.	ikh fer-SHTAY-uh nikht	I don't understand.
Noch einmal, bitte.	nokh INE-mahl, BIT-tuh	Once more, please.
Langsamer, bitte.	LAHNG-zah-mer, BIT-tuh	Slower, please.
Sprechen Sie Englisch?	SHPREKH-en zee ENG-lish	Do you speak English?

📖 Vocabulary — Wortschatz

20 key words and phrases from this chapter. German nouns are always written with a capital letter, and each has a gender shown by its article: der (masculine) or die (feminine). Learn the article together with the noun.

#	German	Say it	English	Type	Note
1	hallo	HAH-lo	hello	phrase	works any time, any place, mostly informal
2	guten Morgen	GOO-ten MOR-gen	good morning	phrase	until late morning
3	guten Tag	GOO-ten TAHK	good day / hello	phrase	from late morning until early evening
4	guten Abend	GOO-ten AH-bent	good evening	phrase	a greeting, not a goodbye
5	gute Nacht	GOO-tuh NAHKHT	good night	phrase	only when going to bed or parting late
6	auf Wiedersehen	owf VEE-der-zay-en	goodbye	phrase	formal; literally "until we see again"
7	tschüss	tshüss	bye	phrase	informal
8	bis später	biss SHPAY-ter	see you later	phrase	bis = until
9	bis morgen	biss MOR-gen	see you tomorrow	phrase
10	danke	DAHN-kuh	thank you	phrase	danke schön = thank you very much
11	bitte	BIT-tuh	please / you're welcome	phrase	one word, two jobs
12	Entschuldigung	ent-SHUL-dee-goong	sorry / excuse me	phrase	also used to get someone's attention
13	ja	yah	yes	phrase
14	nein	nine	no	phrase
15	gut	goot	good / well	adj	"Wie geht's?" — "Gut."
16	schlecht	shlekht	bad	adj
17	sehr	zair	very	adv	sehr gut = very good
18	und	oont	and	word	"Und dir?" = And you?
19	der Herr	hair	Mr / gentleman	noun	used before a surname: Herr Braun
20	die Frau	frow	Mrs / Ms / woman	noun	Frau Weber (no separate Miss in modern use)

Real German Tip — Regional Greetings Once you travel, you'll hear other greetings. In the north, Moin (say it any time of day) is very common. In Bavaria and Austria you'll hear Servus (hello and goodbye) and Grüß Gott (hello, literally "greet God" — used by everyone, not only the religious). In German-speaking Switzerland it's Grüezi. Hallo and Guten Tag work everywhere, so stick with those until you're comfortable. Germans also commonly shake hands when meeting or leaving in formal and work situations.

Quick Grammar Note — Gute Nacht vs. Guten Abend Notice the endings: guten Morgen / Tag / Abend but gute Nacht. The ending changes because the nouns have different genders (Morgen, Tag, Abend are masculine; Nacht is feminine). You don't need to understand this yet — just memorise the four phrases as they are. The system behind it arrives in later chapters.

✍️ Try It Yourself — Übungen

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. It's 8 a.m. and you meet your neighbour, Frau Weber. What do you say?

Show answer

Guten Morgen, Frau Weber! (You'd use Sie with a neighbour you don't know well.)

2. You bump into a friend. Say hello and ask how they are.

Show answer

Hallo! Wie geht's? (or: Wie geht es dir?)

3. Your boss asks "Wie geht es Ihnen?" Reply that you're very well and ask the same back.

Show answer

Sehr gut, danke. Und Ihnen?

4. A friend is leaving and you'll see them tomorrow. What do you say?

Show answer

Tschüss! Bis morgen!

5. A shop assistant speaks quickly and you don't follow. Ask them to slow down and repeat.

Show answer

Noch einmal, bitte. Langsamer, bitte. (You can add: Ich verstehe nicht.)

Coming Up in Chapter 2 You can now greet people and say goodbye. Next you'll introduce yourself — your name, how to say "nice to meet you", and how to ask someone else's name.