A greeting starts a conversation and signals how formal it is. Learn a few reliable phrases before trying to memorize every regional variation.
The idea
Guten Morgen is a morning greeting; Guten Tag works during the day; Guten Abend is for the evening. Hallo is broadly informal. Ask Wie heißen Sie? in a formal introduction, or Wie heißt du? informally. Reply Ich heiße … . Tschüss is an informal goodbye; Auf Wiedersehen is a more formal option. Observe how the other person addresses you.
Examples
- Guten Morgen!
- Guten Tag!
- Guten Abend!
- Hallo, ich heiße Nora.
- Wie heißen Sie?
- Tschüss, bis morgen!
Read-aloud uses a synthetic German voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No German device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not switch between du and Sie accidentally in one exchange. A formal greeting does not automatically tell you the other person's preferred level of familiarity.
Try it yourself
Guten ___! (am Morgen)
Show answer or example answer
Morgen
The morning greeting is Guten Morgen.
Wie ___ Sie? (heißen)
Show answer or example answer
heißen
Formal Sie takes heißen.
Ich ___ Nora. (heißen)
Show answer or example answer
heiße
With ich, heißen becomes heiße.
Practice round
Answer three questions, then rebuild three German sentences. We keep your score.
Guten ___! (am Morgen)
Wie ___ Sie? (heißen)
Ich ___ Nora. (heißen)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Practise one formal introduction and one informal introduction. Add a goodbye suitable for each situation.