Hello and goodbye · for review

Your first German words: how to say hello at any time of day, and how to say goodbye. Press Play on each player and say every word out loud.

Hallo

Hello

Hallo

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Good morning, good day, good evening

German greets by the time of day. These are a little more polite than Hallo, and they are what you hear when you walk into a shop, a bakery or an office.

The time of day, with Daniel

Morning

until about 10 or 11

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When	German	English
any time, with people you know	Hallo	Hello, hi
morning, until about 10 or 11	Guten Morgen	Good morning
the day, until about 6 pm	Guten Tag	Hello (good day)
evening, when you arrive	Guten Abend	Good evening
bedtime, or parting late	Gute Nacht	Good night

Note.

Guten Morgen, Guten Tag, Guten Abend, but Gute Nacht: the ending changes because Nacht is a feminine word and the others are masculine. You will meet this in Unit 4; for now, learn them as they are. And see how every one of these nouns begins with a capital letter, as all German nouns do.

Goodbye

Saying goodbye, with Vicki

Bye

Tschüss

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German	English	With whom
Tschüss	Bye	friends, family, most shops
Auf Wiedersehen	Goodbye	polite, formal
Bis später	See you later	anyone
Bis morgen	See you tomorrow	anyone

Note.

Bis means until: bis später, until later; bis morgen, until tomorrow. morgen, small, is tomorrow; der Morgen, capital, is the morning.

North and south

Germany has regional greetings too. You do not need to use them, but you will hear them.

Two regional greetings

The north

Moin

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Practice

Listen: question 1

Press Play and listen.

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Question

What did Daniel say?

A. Good morningB. Good eveningC. Good night

Hint

Abend is the evening.

Solution

Daniel said Guten Abend, good evening.

Listen: question 2

Press Play and listen.

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Question

What did Vicki say?

A. See you tomorrowB. See you laterC. Good morning

Hint

Small morgen is a day away.

Solution

Vicki said Bis morgen, see you tomorrow.

Question

It is 2 in the afternoon. You walk into a bakery. What do you say?

A. Gute NachtB. Guten TagC. Tschüss

Hint

The most common polite greeting during the day.

Solution

Guten Tag (or Hallo, if the place is relaxed).

Question

You arrive at a friend's party at 8 in the evening. What do you say?

A. Gute NachtB. Guten MorgenC. Guten Abend

Hint

Good night is never a hello.

Solution

Guten Abend, good evening. Gute Nacht is for bedtime or for parting late.

Question

You leave a government office. Which goodbye is the polite one?

A. TschüssB. Auf WiedersehenC. Moin

Hint

The long one.

Solution

Auf Wiedersehen. Tschüss is for friends and everyday places; Moin is a hello.

Listen: question 6

Press Play and listen.

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Question

Where would you most likely hear this?

A. In Munich, in the southB. In Hamburg, in the north

Hint

Daniel is from the south.

Solution

Servus is southern: hello and goodbye among friends. In the north you hear Moin.

Put the greetings in the order of the day

Click the items in the correct order. Click an item in your answer to move it back.

Available items

Your order

Note.

Next: saying your name, and asking someone theirs.