How do I reply to German greetings?

When asked how you are, the most common response is: “ Danke, gut ”, meaning “Thanks, I'm fine.” Usually, people will not respond with “Schlecht” (bad), even if they aren't 100%. You can use something like “Es geht” (It's alright) to reply in a more neutral tone and avoid giving too much detail about how you are feeling.

What should I reply for Danke?

In German, the most common response to "Danke" is " Bitte ," which means "you're welcome." However, there are other variations such as "Gern geschehen" or "Kein Problem." It's always polite to respond to "Danke" with one of these phrases to show your appreciation for the person's gratitude.

What does bist du gut mean?

Translation of "bist du gut" in English. are you good you're good you are well. you're well.

What is the modern reply of how are you?

Fine; OK; not bad; mustn't complain; can't complain; great; really well - and so on. But, in my opinion, you should always add ' thank you ' after responding and then ask how they are.

How are you doing reply answers?

Here is the list of some responses you can use any time regardless of the context. “ I'm doing well, thanks for asking. And yourself? ” “I'm doing great, thank you.

What does Ich mochte lieber mean?

Translation of "Ich möchte lieber" in English. I'd rather I would rather I prefer. I would prefer.

How do I reply to Guten Morgen?

"Guten Morgen!": You can simply respond with the same greeting, "Guten Morgen," which means "Good morning" in German. "Morgen!" : This is a shortened and informal way to respond, essentially saying "Morning!" to acknowledge the greeting. "Hallo!": You can respond with a friendly "Hello!" as a general greeting.

How to reply for "how are you?" in German?

Mir geht es auch gut . “I'm fine too.” Oh yeah, that's also like the response in this typical conversation, “Hey, how are you?” “I'm fine. And you?” “Oh, I'm fine too." Mir geht es auch gut.

How to answer to "how are you?"?

Good: “Good” is the most common answer to the question “How are you?” It is polite and cheerful. Well or very well: This answer is the most grammatically correct since the question "How are you?” should technically be answered with an adverb.

How do you respond to guten tag?

Can you simply say ' dir auch '? Yes, or just repeat the phrase used.

What do Germans say instead of how are you?

If you want to ask “How are you” in German in a formal context, when you don't know the other person, you can ask “ Wie geht es Ihnen? ”. To be more specific, you can add “Wie geht es Ihnen heute Abend” (How are you tonight) for example or use a number of different variations, depending on the context.

How to Say “How Are You” in German – And How to Answer (2024)

“How are you?” is one of the phrases we use most often. Not a day goes by that we don’t ask this question. It’s polite. It’s customary. It’s what we do.

If you are someone who is learning German, you’ve probably wondered how to sayhow are youin German. Like in English, there are a couple of ways you can ask this question. Some are formal, some informal, and some are a bit out there. In this article, I will take you through these, explain how best to use them, and give you some helpful tips. Soon, you’ll be asking peoplehow are youin German with the confidence of a native speaker.

Before you get started

Before you go out there and start asking people how they are, you need to know a couple of things about Germans and Germany.

The main one is that Germans ask others how they are way less often than we (English speakers) do. In the US and the UK, we often askhow are youas a way to start a conversation. It’s almost a part of sayinghello. You greet someone; you ask them how they are; then you get on with the conversation.

It’s different in Germany. Over there, you mainly ask your friends how they are. Or people that you haven’t seen in a while. Rather than it being a small-talk starter,how are youis considered a genuine question by Germans.

The chances are that if you ask a German how they are, you will get a very honest answer. If you’re expecting them to say,I’m good, how are you?you’re in for a surprise. What you might get is closer to a personal essay about their messed up sleeping schedule and the new gardening tool they just bought.

Check out this short video by Radical Living if you want to see what you might unleash when you ask a German how they are. It’s both hilarious and 100% accurate.

Formal version of how are you in German – Wie geht es Ihnen?

This is the most common way to askhow are youin German. The sentence has both formal and informal versions – let’s start with the formal.

Wie geht es Ihnen?is a question you would ask in a formal setting. Think work, school, or bank. If you don’t know a person very well, this is the sentence you should go with.

Informal ways to sayhow are youin German

Wie geht es dir?

This is the informal version ofWie geht es Ihnen?It’s your standard way to askhow are youin German when you’re talking to your friends, classmates, co-workers, or family members.

Diris the Dative version ofduwhich is the pronoun you use in informal settings. In the previous example, we usedIhnen– the Dative version ofSie, used in formal situations. To learn more about German pronouns, check out our Complete Guide to Understanding German Pronouns.

Example:

Hallo, Elias! Wie geht es dir?(Hello, Elias! How are you?)

Wie geht’s?

If you think that saying all ofWie geht es dir?is a bit of a mouthful, I’ve got good news! You can sayWie geht’s?instead. It’s a shorter, snappier, and slightly more informal way of asking your friend how they are.

As you can tell, the sentence starts the same –wieandgehtare still used. Then, instead of saying all ofes, you can shorten it to‘s. Last but not least, you leave out thedir. Who needs it, right? I know you’re talking tome.

Example:

Na, wie geht’s?(Hi, how are you?)

Difference betweenWie geht es dir?andWie geht’s?

If you’re wondering which one of the two you should be using, this section is for you.

It’s simple: You useWie geht es dir?when talking to people that you are friendly with, but perhaps not the closest with. Think distant relatives or co-workers.

Wie geht’s?is used with your closest friends or your siblings.

There is not much difference between the two, but as a general rule, you can remember that the shorter the sentence, the less formal it is.

Wie läuft’s?

Wie geht’s?uses the wordgehen, which meansto go. If you’re looking for a fun alternative to that well-used phrase, you can useWie läuft’s?instead.Laufenmeansto run– it’s similar togehenbut perhaps a bit more casual and playful. You could translate it to English as How you doing?

Wie ist die Lage?

This phrase is used mainly by younger people and is super informal and colloquial. It literally means:How is the situation?but a more accurate translation would beWhat’s up?orHow is it going?

Wie schaut’s aus?

If you’re looking for a way to askhow are youin German without implying that you want an hour-long monologue about the other person’s life, this is the one for you. It literally meanshow is it looking, and you can expect it to be answered with a simpleokor a quick fill-in on what’s going on right now.

Na?

Finally, if you truly want to sound like a native speaker, this is how you can askhow are youin German slang.Nais a confusing word that has many meanings while also having no meaning at all. It can be used in different ways, including asking someone how they are. Be careful to only use this one in the most informal situations. Your boss would not appreciate you sayingNa?

Ways to answerhow are youin German

Now that you’ve learned how to ask the question, you also need to know how to answer it. Otherwise, you might get into an awkward situation when someone asksUnd du?(And you?) and you just stare at them.

Mir geht es gut.

The most direct way to answerWie geht es dir/Ihnen?What you’re doing here is replicating the sentence structure of the question and turning it into an answer.

Wie geht es dir/Ihnen? → Mir geht es gut.
How are you? → I’m good.

Careful!Do not sayIch bin gut. Even though it is a direct translation of I’m good, it has an entirely different meaning toMir geht es gut. Ich bin gut implies that you’re good (at something) rather than that you’re feeling good. This is a common mistake many English speakers make, and it’s important that you avoid it. Always say Mir geht es gut.

Gut./Schlecht.

Instead of using an entire sentence to express yourself, you can keep it short and just use the adjective. Usegutwhen you’re feeling good, andschlechtwhen you’re in a bad mood.

Nicht schlecht.

This one meansnot bad. You can use it as a more neutral answer.

Es geht./Geht so.

If you’re not doing great, but it could be worse, you can go with one of these. They meanso soand are a bit more non-committal.

Other fun ways to askhow are youin German

Once you’ve mastered all the common ways to ask and answer the question, you might want to look into some of the more colloquial phrases that Germans use. Be warned: some of these make absolutely no sense!

Wie geht’s, wie steht’s?

When asking a German how they are, we use the wordgehen(to go). So, why can’t we usestehen(to stand) as well?

This way of askinghow are youin German is a lot of fun. First of all, it rhymes. Second of all, it’s super cheesy. It feels like a dad joke that went viral and never left the German vocabulary. It’s not the most common way to ask someone how they are, but if you’re in a particularly jovial mood, this is the phrase you might go for.

Alles im grünen Bereich?

If you’ve ever driven a car in Germany, you might be aware of their Emissions Sticker system. The good, less polluting cars get a green sticker, and the most polluting vehicles get a red one. Cars that fall in between get a yellow one.

This phrase references this system. There are low-emissions (or green) zones in Germany that only certain cars can enter. This way, those zones are kept healthier and less polluted. When you askAlles im grünen Bereich?you’re literally asking if everything is in the green zone. That’s nice, isn’t it? Like you’re hoping that someone’s life isn’t too polluted. How very German!

Alles in Butter?

This one is my all-time favourite. It meansEverything in butter?And who doesn’t love butter? Granted, this phrase makes a little less sense than all the other ones but at the same time… if you can ask someone how they are by referencing everyone’s favourite spread, why not just go for it?

To learn even more ridiculous ways to askhow are youin German, watch this video by DontTrustTheRabbit. Some of the ones she mentions involve things like stocks, art, and even bras.

Learn more

Knowing how to sayhow are youin German is great, but it’s also not enough to be fluent. Luckily, we have lots more posts to keep you occupied and help you learn some other common and useful German phrases. You can start with these:

“Hello” in German: “Hallo!” and Other German Greetings
How to Say Sorry in German – Apologies and Sympathies
10+ Ways to Say “You’re Welcome” in German
“Thank You” in German and Other Expressions of Gratitude

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