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How to Say ‘Hello.’ in German

Guten Tag.

GOO-ten tahk

[GOO-ten tahk]

🇩🇪 In Germany: Guten Tag is the safe all-day greeting for business calls. It works from late morning to early evening, so you rarely need to guess the time of day.

Phrase Breakdown

Guten

[GOO-ten]

good

Form of 'gut' used before masculine nouns in greetings (accusative).

Example

Guten Abend, Herr Müller!

Good evening, Mr. Müller!

Tag

[tahk]

day

A noun meaning a day; used in the standard daytime greeting.

Example

Wir möchten einen Tisch für Freitag, den Tag nach Ostern.

We would like a table for Friday, the day after Easter.

Guides for German learners

Duolingo vs Pimsleur: Tapping on a Screen or Talking Out Loud?Duolingo vs Pimsleur: five minutes of tapping versus thirty minutes of speaking. What each is good at, what each costs, and which to pick for your goal.

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