Lesson 1: Greetings and Introductions

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say hello, goodbye, and introduce yourself in simple German.

What you’ll learn

• say hello
• say goodbye
• say your name
• ask someone’s name

Saying hello

Here are some common German greetings:

Hallo = Hello
Hi = Hi
Guten Morgen = Good morning
Guten Tag = Good day / Hello
Guten Abend = Good evening

Saying goodbye

Here are some common ways to say goodbye:

Tschüss = Bye
Auf Wiedersehen = Goodbye
Bis bald = See you soon
Gute Nacht = Good night

Introducing yourself

To introduce yourself, you can say:

Ich heiße Anna. = My name is Anna.
Ich bin Anna. = I am Anna.

To ask someone’s name, say:

Wie heißt du? = What is your name?

Exercises

Decide if the situations below require formal or informal speech.

Mini dialogue

Anna: Hallo! Wie heißt du?
Ben: Ich heiße Ben. Und du?
Anna: Ich heiße Anna.
Ben: Tschüss!
Anna: Tschüss!

Deep dive into German Greetings and Introductions.