Greetings in German

Beyond the standard greetings of “hallo,” “good day,” “good morning,” “good evening,” and so forth, it’s intriguing to see what information may be gleaned from how some German people welcome you. Here are a few informal greetings used by German speakers and what they reveal about the people who use them. Then, you can employ them on your own to implicitly “declare” things!

Moin

In the North of Germany, particularly in Hamburg but also in other parts of the region, people commonly greet one another in the morning. If you want to accentuate it, you can repeat “moin, moin!” again, although doing so will likely identify you as a foreigner. The Germans are direct. Usually, one “moin” is plenty. Saying this in Austria or Bavaria essentially indicates that you are from Northern Germany, reside there, or have studied German there. Or you could just have fun using moin.

Servus

The “moin of the South” is Servus. In the South of Germany and Austria, it is a typical, courteous manner to greet people, and it is also how you will frequently be greeted if you enter into a store. Its modern usage has lost its servile connotation and is now just a greeting among young and old alike. The phrase “at your service” was once an entire sentence in Latin that has been reduced to a single word that roughly meaning “at your service.”

Servus, Leute!

Grüß Gott

A more formal and conventional cousin of Servus is Grüß Gott. It means “welcome god” to people in Northern Germany, and despite how ominous it may sound to some, it is actually a very courteous greeting that is frequently used by elderly people, especially in more rural areas of German-speaking Austria and Switzerland. This is due to the fact that the original phrase was “Grüß dich Gott,” which in the Catholic South meant “God bless you” (grüßen used to also mean bless).

Grüß Gott is a safe greeting to use if you come across some elderly residents while trekking in the Alps.

Grüß dich

Literally meaning “hello,” this informal greeting is used to introduce yourself to persons who are either friendly with you but are generally not close friends or even close friends-to-be. It is also prevalent in middle-aged adults, though it may be slowing fading away and becoming less prevalent than it formerly was.

Surprise your German friends with it!