German phrases · 123 phrases with audio

Common German Phrases: Greetings and Basic Expressions

These are the German phrases you need in your first conversations: how to greet people and say goodbye, how to say please, thank you, and sorry, how to introduce yourself, and what to say when you do not understand. Each phrase comes with its English meaning, a short note on when to use it, and audio recorded with a native German voice, so you can hear it before you say it. Where German has a formal and an informal form, both are listed, because choosing between Sie and du is the first decision you make in every conversation. Read the list as a reference, or open the flashcard deck to practice from English to German.

Practice with Flashcards

Greetings

Hallo works everywhere, at any time of day. The Guten forms are more formal and change with the time of day. The regional greetings are what you will actually hear in Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, or Zurich.

English	German	Note
Hello	Hallo Works everywhere, any time of day	Works everywhere, any time of day
Hi	Hi Informal, common with younger people	Informal, common with younger people
Good morning	Guten Morgen Until about 10 or 11 in the morning	Until about 10 or 11 in the morning
Good day, hello	Guten Tag Formal daytime greeting, also used for good afternoon	Formal daytime greeting, also used for good afternoon
Good evening	Guten Abend From about 6 pm	From about 6 pm
Hello	Grüß Gott Southern Germany and Austria. Literally "greet God"	Southern Germany and Austria. Literally "greet God"
Hello or bye	Servus Bavaria and Austria, works for both	Bavaria and Austria, works for both
Hello	Moin Northern Germany, any time of day, not only mornings	Northern Germany, any time of day, not only mornings
Hello	Grüezi Switzerland	Switzerland
Hey, how is it going?	Na? Very informal, between friends	Very informal, between friends
Welcome	Herzlich willkommen Greeting a guest. Not the reply to "thank you"	Greeting a guest. Not the reply to "thank you"

Goodbyes

Tschüss is the everyday goodbye and is fine in most shops and offices. Auf Wiedersehen is the safe formal choice. Gute Nacht is only for bedtime, not for leaving a restaurant at night.

English	German	Note
Goodbye	Auf Wiedersehen Formal. Literally "until we see each other again"	Formal. Literally "until we see each other again"
Bye	Tschüss Informal, the everyday goodbye	Informal, the everyday goodbye
Bye	Tschau Informal, from the Italian ciao	Informal, from the Italian ciao
See you soon	Bis bald
See you later	Bis später Same day	Same day
See you tomorrow	Bis morgen
See you then	Bis dann
Good night	Gute Nacht Only when someone is going to bed	Only when someone is going to bed
Have a nice day	Schönen Tag noch Often said by shop staff	Often said by shop staff
Have a nice weekend	Schönes Wochenende
Take care	Mach's gut Informal	Informal
Goodbye	Auf Wiederhören On the phone only. Literally "until we hear each other again"	On the phone only. Literally "until we hear each other again"

Please, thank you, and sorry

Bitte is the most flexible word on this page. It means please, you are welcome, here you are, and pardon. Entschuldigung is both "excuse me" to get attention and "sorry" for a small mistake.

English	German	Note
Please	Bitte Also "here you are" and "you are welcome"	Also "here you are" and "you are welcome"
Thank you	Danke
Thank you very much	Danke schön
Many thanks	Vielen Dank A little more formal	A little more formal
Thanks a lot	Danke sehr
You are welcome	Bitte schön The usual reply to Danke schön	The usual reply to Danke schön
You are welcome	Gern geschehen Literally "gladly done"	Literally "gladly done"
Don't mention it	Nichts zu danken
No problem	Kein Problem
Excuse me, sorry	Entschuldigung To get attention or to apologize	To get attention or to apologize
Excuse me	Entschuldigen Sie Formal	Formal
I am sorry	Es tut mir leid A real apology	A real apology
Pardon	Verzeihung Slightly old-fashioned	Slightly old-fashioned
Never mind	Macht nichts The reply to an apology	The reply to an apology
Bless you	Gesundheit Literally "health", said after a sneeze	Literally "health", said after a sneeze

Yes, no, and maybe

Ja and nein are easy. The word English speakers miss is doch, which answers a negative question with "yes, actually". Genau (exactly) is the word you will hear most often in a German conversation.

English	German	Note
Yes	Ja
No	Nein
Yes, I do	Doch Answers a negative question: "Kommst du nicht?" "Doch!"	Answers a negative question: "Kommst du nicht?" "Doch!"
Maybe	Vielleicht
Exactly	Genau Germans say this constantly to agree	Germans say this constantly to agree
Of course	Natürlich
Sure	Klar Informal	Informal
Okay, all right	Okay / In Ordnung
That is right	Stimmt
Unfortunately not	Leider nicht A polite no	A polite no
No way	Auf keinen Fall

Introducing yourself and asking how someone is

Most of these come in two forms. Use the Sie form (Wie heißen Sie?) with strangers, officials, and anyone older than you. Use the du form (Wie heißt du?) with friends, family, children, and fellow students.

English	German	Note
What is your name?	Wie heißen Sie? / Wie heißt du? Formal / informal	Formal / informal
My name is …	Ich heiße …
My name is …	Mein Name ist … Formal	Formal
I am …	Ich bin …
Nice to meet you	Freut mich Short for "es freut mich"	Short for "es freut mich"
Where are you from?	Woher kommen Sie? / Woher kommst du? Formal / informal	Formal / informal
I come from …	Ich komme aus …
I live in …	Ich wohne in …
How old are you?	Wie alt bist du? Informal	Informal
I am … years old	Ich bin … Jahre alt
I am learning German	Ich lerne Deutsch
How are you?	Wie geht es Ihnen? Formal	Formal
How are you?	Wie geht's? Informal, short for "wie geht es dir"	Informal, short for "wie geht es dir"
I am fine, thanks. And you?	Mir geht es gut, danke. Und dir? "Und Ihnen?" is the formal version	"Und Ihnen?" is the formal version
So-so	Es geht so
Not so good	Nicht so gut

When you do not understand

These phrases keep a conversation going when you are lost. Wie bitte? is the polite way to say "what?". Langsamer, bitte works in every situation.

English	German	Note
Do you speak English?	Sprechen Sie Englisch? / Sprichst du Englisch? Formal / informal	Formal / informal
I only speak a little German	Ich spreche nur ein bisschen Deutsch
I do not understand	Ich verstehe nicht
I understand	Ich verstehe
Pardon?	Wie bitte? The polite "what?"	The polite "what?"
Can you repeat that, please?	Können Sie das bitte wiederholen?
Slower, please	Langsamer, bitte
What does … mean?	Was bedeutet …?
How do you say … in German?	Wie sagt man … auf Deutsch?
How do you spell that?	Wie schreibt man das?
Can you help me?	Können Sie mir helfen?

Question words

Almost every German question word starts with w. Wo, woher, and wohin are three different words in German: where, where from, and where to.

English	German	Note
Who	Wer Wer ist das?	Wer ist das?
What	Was Was ist das?	Was ist das?
Where	Wo Wo ist der Bahnhof?	Wo ist der Bahnhof?
Where from	Woher Woher kommst du?	Woher kommst du?
Where to	Wohin Wohin gehst du?	Wohin gehst du?
When	Wann Wann kommt der Zug?	Wann kommt der Zug?
Why	Warum Warum nicht?	Warum nicht?
How	Wie Wie geht's?	Wie geht's?
How much	Wie viel Wie viel kostet das?	Wie viel kostet das?
How many	Wie viele Wie viele Kinder hast du?	Wie viele Kinder hast du?
Which	Welcher / Welche / Welches Welches Buch? The ending follows the noun	Welches Buch? The ending follows the noun

Everyday requests

Ich hätte gern is the polite way to order or ask for something in a shop or café. Ich möchte is a little more direct but still polite.

English	German	Note
Where is …?	Wo ist …?
Where is the toilet?	Wo ist die Toilette?
How much does that cost?	Wie viel kostet das?
What time is it?	Wie spät ist es?
I would like …	Ich hätte gern … Polite, the usual way to order	Polite, the usual way to order
I would like …	Ich möchte …
Do you have …?	Haben Sie …?
I am looking for …	Ich suche …
What is that?	Was ist das?
The bill, please	Die Rechnung, bitte
One moment, please	Einen Moment, bitte

Wishes and special occasions

Germans say Guten Appetit before every meal and Prost before every drink. Skipping either one feels rude.

English	German	Note
Happy birthday	Alles Gute zum Geburtstag Literally "all the best for the birthday"	Literally "all the best for the birthday"
Congratulations	Herzlichen Glückwunsch
Cheers!	Prost! Zum Wohl is the formal version	Zum Wohl is the formal version
Enjoy your meal	Guten Appetit Said before every meal	Said before every meal
Good luck	Viel Glück
Have fun	Viel Spaß
Have a good trip	Gute Reise
Get well soon	Gute Besserung
Enjoy your evening	Schönen Feierabend Said when leaving work	Said when leaving work
Merry Christmas	Frohe Weihnachten
Happy New Year	Frohes neues Jahr Before midnight people say "Guten Rutsch"	Before midnight people say "Guten Rutsch"
I love you	Ich liebe dich
Welcome	Willkommen

Reactions and small words

Short words that fill a real conversation. Alles klar and Ach so are the two you will hear most often.

English	German	Note
All right, got it	Alles klar Also a question: "Alles klar?"	Also a question: "Alles klar?"
Oh, I see	Ach so
What a pity	Schade
Great!	Toll! / Super!
Really?	Wirklich?
No idea	Keine Ahnung
It does not matter	Egal
Let's go	Los geht's
Careful! / Attention!	Vorsicht! / Achtung!
Help!	Hilfe!
Stop!	Halt! / Stopp!
Hang on	Moment mal

Formal or informal? Sie and du in one minute

German has two words for "you". Sie is formal and is used with strangers, officials, shop staff, and anyone older than you or in a position of authority. du is informal and is used with friends, family, children, and fellow students. The verb changes with it: Sprechen Sie Englisch? but Sprichst du Englisch?

If you are not sure, start with Sie. Nobody is offended by too much politeness. The other person will usually offer du when they want it, often with the words Wir können uns duzen (we can use du with each other). Greetings like Hallo, Danke, and Tschüss have no formal or informal form, so they are always safe.

Practice these phrases with flashcards

Every phrase on this page as a card. See the English, say the German, flip to check. Free, no signup.

Practice with games

Phrases are short sentences. These games make you build and read full German sentences, which is the next step after memorizing the list.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important German phrases to learn first?

Start with the ten you will use every day: Hallo (hello), Tschüss (bye), Bitte (please), Danke (thank you), Ja (yes), Nein (no), Entschuldigung (excuse me), Ich heiße … (my name is …), Ich verstehe nicht (I do not understand), and Sprechen Sie Englisch? (do you speak English?). With these you can greet people, be polite, and ask for help.

How do you say hi in German?

Hallo is the safe choice in every situation. Hi is also common among younger people. In the south and in Austria you will hear Servus and Grüß Gott, and in the north you will hear Moin.

Is Guten Tag formal?

Yes. Guten Tag (good day) is the standard formal daytime greeting for shops, offices, and people you do not know. Hallo is neutral and works with everyone. Between friends, Hi or Na? is more natural.

What is the difference between Tschüss and Auf Wiedersehen?

Both mean goodbye. Tschüss is informal and is now used almost everywhere, including in shops. Auf Wiedersehen is formal and literally means "until we see each other again". On the phone the formal goodbye is Auf Wiederhören, "until we hear each other again".

What does Bitte mean?

Bitte has several meanings depending on the situation. It means please when you ask for something, you are welcome when someone thanks you, here you are when you hand something over, and pardon when you did not hear something (Wie bitte?).

Why do Germans say Doch?

Doch is the answer to a negative question when you want to say "yes, actually". If someone asks "Kommst du nicht?" (Are you not coming?), the answer Ja is confusing and Nein means you are not coming. Doch means "yes, I am coming". English has no single word for this.

When do I use Sie and when do I use du?

Use Sie with strangers, officials, shop staff, and anyone older than you or in a position of authority. Use du with friends, family, children, and fellow students. If you are not sure, start with Sie and switch when the other person offers du.

Continue learning

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