Guten Morgen, wie geht's?
In German, "good morning, how are you?" is expressed as Guten Morgen, wie geht's?
This phrase is a friendly greeting used in the morning to ask about someone's well-being. The first part, Guten Morgen, is typically used from sunrise until around 10:00 or 11:00 AM, after which Guten Tag becomes more appropriate.
Which one should you use?
While Guten Morgen, wie geht es Ihnen? is the standard formal way to ask and Guten Morgen, wie geht es dir? is the standard informal way, Guten Morgen, wie geht's? serves as a common middle ground or casual variant.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In some parts of Germany, especially in the north, it is common to use the word Moin as a casual greeting throughout the day, such as in the phrase Moin, wie geht's dir?
When do people say it?
When responding to a formal greeting, a common way to state your well-being and ask the person back is to say Gut, danke. Und Ihnen? In an informal context, you can say Gut, danke. Und dir?
Did you know?
- Depending on the context, the word morgen can mean 'morning' or 'tomorrow'. The only way to tell them apart in a sentence is often by the capitalization of the first letter.
- The greeting Guten Morgen uses the accusative case. This is because the full historical phrase was 'I wish you a good morning', leaving Guten Morgen as the object of the implied wish.
- In many German cultures, wie geht's? is often treated as a social ritual rather than a genuine medical inquiry. A detailed list of your problems might be seen as too blunt for a morning greeting.
Example conversation
Hannah and Julian meet at the coffee machine at work.
- HannahGuten Morgen, wie geht's?Good morning, how are you?
- JulianMir geht es gut, danke. Und dir?I am doing well, thanks. And you?
- HannahAuch gut, danke für die Frage.Also good, thanks for asking.
- JulianSchön! Dann wünsche ich dir einen guten Tag.Great! Then I wish you a good day.
