Learn how to use basic greetings
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| Welcome to Can Do German by GermanPod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use basic greetings in German. |
| For example, "Good day." is |
| Guten Tag. |
| Finja Fischer is the Ahrens family's German teacher. |
| Her schedule for the day is: |
| Aylin Ahrens at 9:00 a.m. |
| Anouk Ahrens at 12:00 p.m. |
| Aron Ahrens at 6:00 p.m. |
| Before you listen to the greeting exchange between the three pairs, let's preview some of its key components. |
| Guten Morgen. |
| "Good morning" |
| Guten Morgen. |
| Guten Morgen. |
| Guten Tag. |
| "Good day." |
| Guten Tag. |
| Guten Tag. |
| Guten Abend. |
| "Good evening" |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend. |
| Listen to their conversations, and pay attention to the time of day. |
| Finja Fischer has a morning class with Aylin Ahrens at 9 a.m. |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Ahrens. |
| Later, Finja Fischer has an afternoon class with Anouk Ahrens at 12 p.m. |
| Guten Tag. |
| Guten Tag. |
| At the end of the day, Finja Fischer has an evening class with Aron Ahrens at 6 p.m. |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend, Aron. |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. |
| "Good morning, Ms. Fischer." |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Ahrens. |
| "Good morning, Ms. Ahrens." |
| Guten Tag. |
| "Good day." |
| Guten Tag. |
| "Good day." |
| Guten Abend. |
| "Good evening." |
| Guten Abend, Aron. |
| "Good evening, Aron." |
| Let’s break down each of these expressions. |
| In the first conversation, do you remember how Aylin says, |
| "Good morning, Ms. Fischer." |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. |
| Let’s start with Guten Morgen, which translates as "good morning." |
| Guten Morgen. "Good morning." Guten Morgen. |
| Note, Guten Morgen, can be used until around noon. |
| Next is Frau, "Ms," in this context. Frau. Frau. This is an honorific used for women. |
| Note, the honorific to address a man is Herr, "Mr." Herr. Herr. |
| Finally, the teacher’s family name, Fischer. Fischer. Fischer.. Fischer. |
| Together, Frau Fischer. "Ms. Fischer." Frau Fischer. |
| All together, Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. "Good morning, Ms. Fischer." |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. |
| When including a person’s name in a greeting, it’s more common to say the person’s name after the greeting. |
| Note: using a person’s family name in a greeting may come across as more formal. |
| Do you remember the teacher’s 's response? |
| "Good morning, Ms. Ahrens." |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Ahrens. |
| First is Guten Morgen, "Good morning." Guten Morgen. |
| Next is Frau, "Ms," in this context. Frau. Frau. This is an honorific used for women. |
| Finally, Aylin’s family name, Ahrens, pronounced in German. Ahrens. Ahrens. |
| All together, it’s Guten Morgen, Frau Ahrens. "Good morning, Ms. Ahrens." |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Ahrens. |
| Note, this exchange is formal. |
| In the second conversation, which takes place at noon, do you remember how Anouk says, |
| "Good day." |
| Guten Tag, meaning "good day." Guten Tag. Guten Tag. |
| Note, that Anouk’s greeting is slightly less formal, as she doesn’t say the teacher’s name. |
| Guten Tag. "good day." Guten Tag. |
| Note, Guten Tag can be used from around noon until dusk. |
| The teacher 's response is the same, |
| Guten Tag. |
| This can translate as "Hello," or "good day." |
| Guten Tag is a common way to greet people during the day. You can use it in formal and less formal situations. |
| In the third conversation, which takes place in the evening at 6pm, do you remember how Aron says, |
| "Good evening." |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend. "Good evening." Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend is a common way to greet people during the evening and at night, in both formal and less formal situations. |
| Do you remember the teacher's response, |
| "Good evening, Aron." |
| Guten Abend, Aron. |
| First is Guten Abend. "Good evening." Guten Abend. |
| Next is Aron’s name pronounced in German. Aron. Aron. Aron. |
| Together, it's Guten Abend, Aron. "Good evening, Aron." |
| Guten Abend, Aron. |
| Note that the teacher addresses Aron by his first name, as he’s younger. This makes the greeting sound more informal. |
| The expressions you have learned in this lesson are actually shortened forms of longer expressions. |
| Guten Morgen is the shortened form of Ich wünsche dir einen guten Morgen. "I wish you a good morning." |
| Guten Tag is the shortened form of Ich wünsche dir einen guten Tag. "I wish you a good day." |
| Guten Abend is the shortened form of Ich wünsche dir einen guten Abend. "I wish you a good evening." |
| These extended forms are simply for your general knowledge. |
| Let’s look at the greetings once more. |
| Listen and repeat, or speak along with the native speaker. |
| Guten Tag. |
| "Good day." |
| Guten Tag. |
| Guten Abend. |
| "Good evening." |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. |
| "Good morning, Ms. Fischer." |
| Guten Morgen, Frau Fischer. |
| Hallo! |
| "Hello!" |
| Hallo! |
| Did you notice the last greeting? |
| Hallo! "Hello!" Hallo! Hallo! |
| For informal situations, you can just use the greeting, hallo, "hello," at any time of the day. |
| Hallo is the most common greeting in German. However, it’s only suitable for informal situations, such as when greeting friends or relatives. It translates as "hi" or "hello." |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speakers, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Good morning." |
| Guten Morgen. |
| Guten Morgen. |
| And how to say, |
| "Good day." |
| Guten Tag. |
| Guten Tag. |
| Do you remember how to say, |
| "Good evening." |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend. |
| Do you remember how to address "Ms. Fischer?" |
| Frau Fischer. |
| Frau Fischer. |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Aron Ahrens, and you’re attending your morning class. |
| Respond by saying, "Good morning." |
| Ready? |
| Guten Morgen, Aron. |
| Guten Morgen. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Guten Morgen. |
| Guten Morgen. |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine you're Aylin Ahrens , and you’re attending your afternoon class. |
| Respond by saying, "Good afternoon, Ms. Fischer." |
| Ready? |
| Guten Tag, Frau Ahrens. |
| Guten Tag, Frau Fischer. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Guten Tag, Frau Fischer. |
| Guten Tag, Frau Fischer. |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Arnold Ahrens , and you meet your neighbor in the evening. Respond by saying, "Good evening." |
| Ready? |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Guten Abend. |
| Guten Abend. |
| This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to use basic greetings in German. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of using basic greetings. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson. |
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