31. Basic Greetings in German
Given that there are numerous dialects in German, the first greeting of the day is used all over the German speaking word. Not so with the other greetings ...
guten Tag [gooh ten tark] = good day (used in the north of Germany but not in the south)
grüß Gott [grew ss got] = hello (general greeting in Sth Germany & Austria) (lit. may God greet you)
Servus [sair voohs] = hello (also used in Sth Germany and Austria) (lit. at your service)
grüezi (wohl) [grew tsee] = hello (Switzerland)
As you can see there are variations of how to say hello but it all depends where you are. I got a very filthy look from a saleslady in a dept. store once when I said guten Tag after crossing over into South Germany. I received a very curt grüß Gott in reply. In the very south I also frequently heard a very courteous (ich) habe die Ehre (hoh ber dee air ee - Bavarian pronunciation here). It is used as another greeting for hello and means (I) have the honour (of seeing you).
guten Abend [gooh ten ar bent] = good evening (used everywhere from about 4:00 p.m.)
gute Nacht [gooh ter nar ch t] = good night (used when going to bed or at end of an evening)
auf Wiedersehen [ow f vee der zay en] = good bye (lit. until seeing you again)
Tschüss [chew ss] = bye (informal) & mach's gut [mar ch ss gooht] (informal also)
In terms of greeting people in German speaking countries, you will probably shake hands more frequently than you do in the English speaking world, even after seeing a colleague again after leaving work. Also, where an Australian will say (colloquially) how are you going, the German wie geht es dir / Ihnen equivalent is not used anywhere near so often unless you have not seen each other for some time.
Brandenburg Gate - Berlin
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