Wouldn’t it be nice if the first thing that we will know when we learn German language is its courtesy phrases? These are essentially important especially when we really value not just the language in itself but also the people who use the language. Communicating to them using German language is fine; but communicating to them with courtesy is even much better.
So, let us take time to learn these courtesy phrases and allow ourselves to be nurtured with good manners particularly in speech. Let’s read the following phrases below.
German Greetings and Courtesies
- Everyday
es
German (Deutsch)
English
Guten Tag! – Tag! Hello! – Hi!
Grüß Gott! Hello! (southern Germany & Austria)
Grüß dich! Hello! (familiar, informal)
Guten Morgen! Good morning!
Guten Abend! Good evening!
Gute Nacht! Good night!
Wie geht es Ihnen? How are you?
Wie geht’s? How are you? (familiar, informal)
Danke, gut. Fine, thanks.
- Positive Responses
German (Deutsch)
English
Sehr gut. Great.
Es geht. Okay. So-so.
Nicht so gut. Not so well.
Auf Wiedersehen. Good-bye.
Tschüs! Bye! See you later. (casual)
- Requests
German (Deutsch)
English
Was möchten Sie? What would you like?
Ich möchte… I would like…
Darf ich? May I?
Können Sie mir helfen? Can you help me?
- Yes/No – Thanks – You’re Welcome
German (Deutsch)
English
Bitte! – Ja, bitte! Please! – Yes, please!
Danke!
Thanks! – No thanks!
Note: “Danke!” in response to an offer usually means “No thanks!” If you want to indicate a positive response to an offer, say “Bitte!
Danke schön! Thank you!
Vielen Dank! Thanks a lot! – Many thanks!
Bitte schön! You’re welcome!
(in response to “Danke schön!”)
Nein, danke! No thanks!
When you tackle these phrases upon taking foreign language courses, the teacher will actually teach you how to pronounce this properly. That is why it is really more recommendable to go to language schools when you want a complete and formal training in learning foreign languages. What’s best is that you choose a language school that is located in a German-speaking country, so you could always get to practice your target language consistently even outside the classroom walls.
So bear these Germany courtesy phrases when you are learning German language. These words are in fact, the simplest and the most important way of showing respect to German-speaking people.