Begrüßung und Vorstellung — DE. für Anfänger

What you will be able to do

Greet someone at any time of day and introduce yourself in German.

I can greet someone correctly at any time of day.
I can introduce myself with three sentences.
I know when to use Sie and when to use du.

Zum Lesen · For reading

Guten Tag, Frau Schneider! — Guten Tag, Herr Costa! Ich heiße Elena Schneider, ich komme aus Spanien und ich wohne in Regensburg. Wie heißen Sie? — Ich bin Marco Costa, ich komme aus Italien und ich arbeite als Krankenpfleger. Ich freue mich, Sie kennenzulernen.

Good day, Ms Schneider! — Good day, Mr Costa! My name is Elena Schneider, I come from Spain and I live in Regensburg. What is your name? — I am Marco Costa, I come from Italy and I work as a nurse. I am pleased to meet you.

How a first meeting works

Ich heiße Elena. Ich komme aus Spanien. Wo wohnen Sie? Wie geht es Ihnen? Danke, gut.

Meeting someone in German is a small number of fixed moves, and they happen in the same order every time: greet, say your name, say where you are from, then ask the other person the same questions. Two rules do most of the grammatical work: in a statement the verb stands in position 2, and a question either starts with the verb or with a question word. The bigger decision is not grammar but politeness — Sie or du.

The verb comes second

Ich heiße Elena. Ich komme aus Spanien. Ich wohne in Regensburg.

In a statement the conjugated verb is always the second part. The subject can stand before it or after it, but the verb stays in position 2: Ich komme aus Spanien.

Questions: verb first, or question word first

Wo wohnen Sie? Woher kommen Sie? Was machen Sie beruflich? Was sind Sie von Beruf?

A question without a question word puts the verb first and the subject behind it: Was machen Sie beruflich? — or: Was sind Sie von Beruf? A question with a question word puts the question word first — and the verb still stands in position 2, with the subject behind it: Wo wohnen Sie? Woher kommen Sie?

Sie or du — and the capital S

Guten Tag, Frau Schneider. Wie geht es Ihnen? — Guten Tag, Herr Costa. Wie geht es dir?

Sie is the polite form, du the familiar one. Sie: strangers, colleagues, in shops, at the doctor's, in official situations. du: friends, family, children, and colleagues who have agreed to say du to each other (Wir können uns duzen). At the start, Sie is the safe choice — nobody thinks less of you. Never duzen someone older or in authority unless they offer it first. And the spelling: Sie always has a capital S, du never does.

Herr, Frau and the family name

Herr Costa. Frau Schneider. Frau Dr. Weber.

With a stranger you do not use the first name: you say Herr or Frau plus the family name. First names are only for people you duzen. If a woman does not want to be called Frau, you ask her: Frau Dr. Weber? — you ask, you do not decide for her.

Small talk: three words that keep it going

Guten Tag. Wie geht es Ihnen? — Danke, gut. Und Ihnen? — Bitte, danke. Entschuldigung! Tschüss.

Three small words do most of the polite work: Bitte (please), Danke (thank you) and Entschuldigung (excuse me — or a short apology; for a real apology you say Es tut mir leid). Answer the question Wie geht es Ihnen? with Danke, gut (thank you, good) or Nicht so gut (not so good) — both are normal answers. Tschüss is the informal goodbye.

Greetings by the clock

Guten Morgen. Guten Tag. Guten Abend. Guten Nacht. Hallo. Servus. Tschüss. Moin.

The clock chooses the first four: Guten Morgen belongs to the morning, Guten Tag to the middle of the day, Guten Abend to the evening, Guten Nacht to bedtime. Hallo, Servus, Tschüss and Moin depend on the person, not on the hour. If you are not sure what time it is, Guten Tag is always safe.

Greeting	Time of day	English	When you use it
Guten Morgen	Until about 11:00	Good morning	From early morning until about 11:00. Before the first meeting at work.
Guten Tag	From about 11:00	Good day	The all-purpose greeting, from about 11:00 until the early evening. When you are not sure, say this.
Guten Abend	From about 18:00	Good evening	From about 18:00 until you go to bed.
Guten Nacht	Late in the evening	Good night	When you say goodbye late in the evening, or on the phone at night. It is a farewell, not a greeting.
Hallo	Any time	Hello	Informal. With friends, family and colleagues you already say du to.
Servus	Any time	Hi / bye	South German and Austrian. Servus means both hello and goodbye.
Tschüss	When you leave	Bye	The informal goodbye. With colleagues you say Auf Wiedersehen.
Moin	Any time	Hi	Northern Germany, around the North Sea. Common in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. Used as hello and as goodbye.

The Ich-Card: five sentences, four questions

Ich heiße … Ich komme aus … Ich wohne in … Ich arbeite als … Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch. Das ist … Ich freue mich, Sie kennenzulernen. Wie heißen Sie? Woher kommen Sie? Wo wohnen Sie? Was machen Sie beruflich?

Say the five sentences, then ask the four questions. That is a complete first meeting, and it takes less than a minute. The same card works at a language course, at an office door and at the doctor's.

German	English	When you say it
Ich heiße …	My name is …	The first sentence of every introduction.
Ich komme aus …	I come from …	Name a country: „Ich komme aus Spanien.
Ich wohne in …	I live in …	Name your town: „Ich wohne in Regensburg.
Ich arbeite als …	I work as a …	Name the job: „Ich arbeite als Krankenpfleger.
Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch.	I speak German and English.	Say what you can do in the language you are speaking.
Das ist …	This is …	Introduce a third person: „Das ist mein Kollege Thomas.
Ich freue mich, Sie kennenzulernen.	I am pleased to meet you.	The last sentence of the introduction.
Wie heißen Sie?	What is your name?	Ask the other person.
Woher kommen Sie?	Where do you come from?	Ask the other person.
Wo wohnen Sie?	Where do you live?	Ask the other person.
Was machen Sie beruflich?	What do you do for a living?	Ask the other person.

Quick check

c-greetingIt is 20:00. You meet your neighbour in the stairwell. What do you say?

c-sie-duIt is your first day at work. A colleague you have never met opens the office door. What do you say?

c-verbFill in the gaps. Write the verb in the right form.

Ich aus Spanien.
Ich in Regensburg.

Match the greeting to the situation

c-matchWhich greeting fits each situation?

Vocabulary

die Begrüßung, der Beruf, das Land, die Sprache, das Kennenlernen, Herr, Frau. begrüßen, heißen, kommen, wohnen, arbeiten.

The twelve words of this lesson. Every noun keeps its article here — that is the whole trick of German: once you know the article, you can use the word almost anywhere.

die Begrüßungthe greeting
der Berufthe profession, the job
das Landthe country
die Sprachethe language
das Kennenlernengetting to know each other
HerrMr, a form of address
FrauMs, Mrs, a form of address
begrüßento greet
heißento be called
kommento come
wohnento live, to reside
arbeitento work

Write

Write three sentences about yourself in German: your name, where you come from, where you live.

Use the Ich-Card: Ich heiße …, Ich komme aus …, Ich wohne in …. Every sentence starts with Ich, and the verb comes second.

Write three sentences about yourself in German: your name, where you come from, where you live.

Ich heiße Elena Schneider. Ich komme aus England. Ich wohne in Regensburg. Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch.

Model answer

Ich heiße Elena Schneider. Ich komme aus England. Ich wohne in Regensburg. Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch.

More free practice

Deutsche Welle · Nicos Weg A1
The free video course where Nico says hello and introduces himself — this lesson in motion.
Deutsche Welle · ABC — alphabet and pronunciation course
Short units with audio, for hearing the greetings spoken clearly.
Deutsche Welle · Deutschtrainer
100 everyday topics with audio. Look for Begrüßung and Vorstellung.
dict.cc — German–English dictionary
Look up any phrase, for example »kennenlernen« or »duzen«.
Language Reactor — dual subtitles
Watch German video with German and English subtitles at the same time, and copy the greetings you hear.

What you can do now

Ich grüße zur richtigen Tageszeit. — I greet someone at the right time of day.
Ich stelle mich mit drei Sätzen vor: Name, Herkunft, Wohnort. — I introduce myself with three sentences: name, origin, where I live.
Ich weiß, wann ich Sie sage und wann ich du sage. — I know when to use Sie and when to use du.
Ich frage die vier Fragen der Ich-Karte. — I can ask the four questions of the Ich-Card.
Ich stelle eine Frage mit Verb zuerst oder mit Fragewort. — I can form a question — verb first, or question word first.

Next: Das Satzbett — the rule that shapes every German sentence.

Everything above is also in the workbook, with the answers at the end. Download the vocabulary as an Anki deck in the Vocabulary section.