This week I finally got around to doing my remix of JC Van Luyn‘s song “Guten Morgen, Guten Tag“. I asked him several months ago if it would be OK for me to do a remix of his song. With the help of a former student of mine on guitar, I recorded the video you see below. Below is a short list of greetings, farewells, and basic German phrases that you should learn very early in your German learning. All of those topics are also covered in my beginner German e-book, which you can download here.
Click here for a full lesson about greetings.
Click here for a full lesson about farewells.
Click here for a full lesson about basic phrases you should know.
Greetings
As in many languages, there are more ways to greet someone than just saying “hello”. Here are a few examples from the German language.
Hallo – hello
Guten Morgen – good morning
Guten Tag – good day
Guten Abend – good evening
Grüß dich – hello (southern Germany, casual)
Grüß Gott – hello (southern Germany, formal)
Servus – hello (Bavaria & Austria)
Farewells
There are almost as many ways to say “good-bye” as there are ways to say “hello”. Some of them are dependent upon the time of the day like the greetings above are.
Auf Wiedersehen – good-bye (slightly more formal)
Tschüss – bye (casual)
Gute Nacht – good night
Bis bald – see you soon
Bis dann – until then
Bis später – until later
Tschau – bye (casual)
Servus – bye (Bavaria & Austria)
Basic Phrases
The song also features a few phrases that students who are just starting with their German learning should know. I have also included a few other phrases you should know on the list below.
Danke – thank you
Bitte – please, you’re welcome
Wie geht’s? – How’s it going?
Mir geht’s gut. – I’m doing well.
schlecht – bad, poorly
ja – yes
nein – no
Entschuldigen Sie. – Excuse me.
Sprechen Sie Englisch? – Do you speak English?
Es tut mir leid. – I’m sorry.
Wo ist die Toilette? – Where is the restroom?
Wo ist der Bahnhof? – Where is the train station?
Ich bin… – I am
Ich habe… – I have
Wie heißt du? – What is your name?
Ich heiße… – I am called… (My name is…)
Schön, Sie kennenzulernen. – Nice to meet you.
Freut mich. – I’m pleased (to meet you).
Prost! – cheers
Zum Wohl! – Cheers (lit. “To your health)
Was? – What?
Ich verstehe nicht. – I don’t understand.
Wie viel kostet das? – How much does that cost?
Geh weg! – Go away. (informal)
Gehen Sie weg! – Go away. (formal)
Guten Morgen. Guten Morgen. Und falls wir uns nicht mehr heute sehen, guten Tag, guten Abend, gute Nacht.
