Begrüßung und Höflichkeit (Greetings and Courtesy)¶
Redemittel (Phrases)¶
| Deutsch | English |
|---|---|
| Guten Morgen! | good morning |
| Guten Tag! | good day |
| Guten Nachmittag! | good afternoon |
| Guten Abend! | good evening |
| Gute Nacht! | good night |
| Bis später! | till later |
| Bis bald! | see you soon |
| Tschüss! | bye (informal) |
| Auf Wiedersehen! | bye (formal) |
| Bitte! | please / you're welcome / pardon? |
| Danke! | thank you |
| Vielen Dank! | thanks a lot |
| Entschuldigung! | excuse me / sorry |
| Entschuldigen Sie! | excuse me / sorry (formal) |
Merke (Note)
- Bitte does four jobs that English splits into different words: asking (please), replying to thanks (you're welcome), not having heard (pardon?), and handing something over (here you are). German doesn't distinguish them — context does.
- Entschuldigung and Entschuldigen Sie both land as "excuse me / sorry" in English, but Entschuldigen Sie is the formal form — use it with strangers, Entschuldigung with anyone.
- The time-of-day greetings shade into each other with no fixed cutoff: Morgen → Tag → Nachmittag → Abend → Nacht — and Gute Nacht is only ever a goodbye, never a greeting.