Formal German Greetings
It
is sometimes considered rude to use the du form of
address with someone who isn't a friend or relative. Because you
don't know the person you're speaking to, it is definitely best to
take the formal approach. It is worth noting, however, that younger
generations are tending more and more to use the informal du form.
German
|
Pronunciation
|
English
|
Guten Tag
|
gew-tuhn-tahk
|
Hello
|
Guten Abend
|
gew-tuhn ah-bent
|
Good evening
|
mein Herr
|
mayn heR
|
Sir
|
meine Dame
|
may-nuh dah-muh
|
Miss, Mrs
|
Ich heibe.
|
iH hay-suh
|
My name is.
|
Wie heiben Sie?
|
vee hay-suhn zee
|
What is your name?
|
Wie geht es Ihnen?
|
vee gayt es ee-nuhn
|
How are you?
|
Sehr gut
|
zeyR gewt
|
Very well
|
Nicht schlecht
|
niHt shleHt
|
Not bad
|
Es geht so
|
es gayt zo
|
So so
|
You
hit it off with your plane buddy right away, and he says, "Dutzen
Sie mich , bitte ( dew-tsuhn zee miH, bi-tuh),"
which means, "Please use du with me." When
this happens, it means that you've earned the right to a certain
degree of intimacy with this person. You can now use the following
phrases:
German
|
Pronunciation
|
English
|
Hallo!
|
hA-lo
|
Hi!
|
Ich heibe.
|
iH hay-suh
|
My name is.
|
Wie heibt du?
|
vee hayst dew
|
What is your name?
|
Wie geht's?
|
vee gayts
|
How are you?
|
Wie geht es dir?
|
vee gayt es deeR
|
How's it going with you?
|
Was machst du so?
|
vAs mACHst dew zo
|
What's up?
|
Ganz gut
|
gAns gewt
|
Okay
|
Ich kann nicht klagen
|
iH kAn niHt klah-guhn
|
I can't complain
|
Mal so, mal so
|
Mahl zo, mahl zo
|
So so
|
Eventually,
you are going to want to know where the person to whom you are
speaking is from. You're also going to want to respond correctly when
he asks you where you are from. To do this, you will need to
familiarize yourself with the irregular verb kommen ( ko-muhn ).
Person
|
Singular
|
English
|
Plural
|
English
|
First
|
Ich komme
iH ko-muh |
I come
|
wir kommen
veer ko-muhn |
We come
|
Second
|
du kommst
dew komst |
You come
|
Sie komme
zee ko-muhn |
You come
|
(Formal)
|
ihr kommt
eeR komt |
Sie kommen
zee ko-muhn |
||
Third
|
er, sie,
es kommt eR, zee, es kmot |
He, she,
it comes |
sie kommen
zee ko-muhn |
They come
|
To
question someone about his or her origins, try the following:
Formal Use:
Formal Use:
- German: "Woher kommen Sie?"
- Pronunciation: "Voh-heR ko-muhn zee."
- English: "Where are you from?"
Informal
Use:
- German: "Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus."
- Pronunciation: "Voh-heR komst dew itt ko-muh ous."
