Which one should you use?
Guten Morgen is used specifically for the early morning hours, whereas Guten Tag (good day) is the standard greeting used from midday through the afternoon.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
In relaxed and casual settings, you can use the phrase Hey, guten Morgen. Among friends or colleagues, it is also common to be even more informal by dropping the "Guten" entirely and simply saying Morgen!
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Northern Germany, the word Moin is used to greet people in the morning.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the masculine accusative form because it is a shortened version of the sentence Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Morgen (I wish you a good morning).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɡuːtən ˈmɔʁɡən/
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid saying Gute Morgen. Because Morgen is a masculine noun in German, you must use the masculine Guten instead of the feminine Gute.
Did you know?
- The root of the word Morgen is believed to come from an ancient word meaning 'to blink' or 'to twinkle'.
- In very formal German business culture, it is often considered impolite to move to a first-name basis even after saying guten Morgen for many years.
- The German word for 'morning' Morgen is spelled exactly like the word for 'tomorrow' morgen, though they are capitalized differently.
Examples in context
- Hallo Tom. Guten Morgen.Hi, Tom. Good morning!This sentence shows a simple greeting using guten Morgen.Tatoeba #2153221 by Vortarulo, translation #7855406 by shekitten
- Guten Morgen. Wie geht's?Good morning. How are you?This sentence demonstrates using guten Morgen followed by a question.Tatoeba #2045663 by Manfredo, translation #434812 by lukaszpp
- Guten Morgen, mein Schatz!Good morning, my love.This sentence shows an affectionate way to use guten Morgen.Tatoeba #5590982 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #5587302 by Hybrid
- 72 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julian and Laura meet in the kitchen for breakfast.
- JulianGuten Morgen, Laura!Good morning, Laura!
- LauraGuten Morgen, Julian. Hast du Kaffee?Good morning, Julian. Do you have coffee?
- JulianJa, die Kanne ist fertig.Yes, the pot is ready.
- LauraSuper, danke!Great, thanks!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good morning” translations and entries guten Morgen, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Morgen, guten Morgen, morgen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
