German A1 Starter — MintDeck

Note: Neutral and works in almost any situation, formal or informal. Pronounced with stress on the second syllable: ha-LO.

Note: Used until about 11 a.m. 'Morgen' is also the noun for 'morning' AND an adverb meaning 'tomorrow' — context decides.

Note: The standard polite greeting when you walk into a shop or office. In southern Germany and Austria people often say 'Grüß Gott' instead.

Note: Used from roughly 6 p.m. 'Gute Nacht' (good night) is only for going to bed, not for greeting in the evening.

Note: Only a farewell before sleeping — never use it to greet someone arriving in the evening; use 'Guten Abend' for that.

Note: Casual goodbye for friends and people you say 'du' to. For formal situations use 'Auf Wiedersehen' instead.

Note: Literally 'until seeing again'. On the phone you say 'Auf Wiederhören' instead (hören = to hear).

Note: 'bis' (until) starts many farewells: 'bis morgen' (tomorrow), 'bis später' (later), 'bis dann' (then).

Note: Short for 'Wie geht es dir?'. The formal version is 'Wie geht es Ihnen?'. The 's is a contraction of 'es'.

Note: 'Danke schön' or 'Vielen Dank' are more emphatic. Confusingly, answering 'Danke' to an offer can mean 'no thanks' — context matters.

Note: One of the most multi-purpose words: it means 'please', the reply to 'Danke', and 'here you are' when handing something over.

Note: Use it both to apologize and to get someone's attention. The matching verb is 'sich entschuldigen' (to apologize).

Note: To contradict a negative question, Germans say 'Doch!' instead of 'Ja' — e.g. 'Magst du das nicht?' → 'Doch!' (Yes, I do!).

Note: Don't confuse 'nein' (no) with 'kein' (not a/no + noun): 'Nein, ich habe kein Auto.' (No, I have no car.)

Note: From the verb 'heißen' (to be called). More natural than 'Mein Name ist'. Ask back with 'Wie heißt du?' / 'Wie heißen Sie?'

Note: Short for 'Es freut mich' (it pleases me). A common full version is 'Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen.'

Note: Often paired with 'herzlich' (heartfelt). Note: it is NOT the reply to 'Danke' — for that use 'Bitte' or 'Gern geschehen'.

Note: An 'n-noun' (weak noun): it takes an extra -n in most cases, e.g. 'Wie war Ihren Namen?' → correctly 'Ihren Namen'.

Note: Separable verb: 'Ich stelle ... vor.' With 'sich' it means 'to imagine': 'Stell dir vor!' (Imagine that!).

Note: Separable: 'Ich lerne ihn kennen.' Used for meeting someone for the first time, not for an arranged meeting (that's 'treffen').