guten Morgen
/ˈɡuːtən ˈmɔʁɡən/
In German, good morning is guten Morgen.
The phrase is used when seeing someone for the first time in the morning.
Meaning: when seeing someone for the first time in the morning (intj)
Which one should you use?
While guten Morgen is used specifically in the early morning, Guten Tag is used from midday through the afternoon.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Guten Morgen is a formal way to say good morning. In casual settings with friends or colleagues, you can drop the Guten and simply say Morgen! Additionally, Moin is an informal way to say good morning and Hallo is an informal way to say hello or good morning.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase uses the masculine accusative form guten because it is a shortened version of Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Morgen (I wish you a good morning).
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈɡuːtən ˈmɔʁɡən/
Did you know?
- The etymological root of Morgen comes from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning 'to blink' or 'to twinkle', likely referring to the shimmering light of dawn.
- Depending on the region, Moin Moin is used instead of a single Moin, but using it twice can sometimes be seen as overly chatty in very formal Northern circles.
- In traditional German etiquette, the person of higher social or professional rank is often the one expected to initiate the guten Morgen greeting.
Examples in context
- Hallo Tom. Guten Morgen.Hi, Tom. Good morning!This example shows a casual greeting using guten Morgen.Tatoeba #2153221 by Vortarulo, translation #7855406 by shekitten
- Guten Morgen. Wie geht's?Good morning. How are you?This example shows a greeting followed by a question using guten Morgen.Tatoeba #2045663 by Manfredo, translation #434812 by lukaszpp
- Guten Morgen, mein Schatz!Good morning, my love.This example shows an affectionate greeting using guten Morgen.Tatoeba #5590982 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #5587302 by Hybrid
- Guten Morgen, Frau Schmidt. Wie geht es Ihnen heute?Good morning, Mrs. Schmidt. How are you today?
- Moin, Tim! Hast du gut geschlafen?Good morning, Tim! Did you sleep well?
- Hallo Lisa! Guten Morgen!Hello Lisa! Good morning!
- 72 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Julia and Julian meet in the kitchen for breakfast.
- JuliaGuten Morgen, Julian!Good morning, Julian!
- JulianGuten Morgen, Julia. Hast du Kaffee?Good morning, Julia. Do you have coffee?
- JuliaJa, die Kanne ist schon fertig.Yes, the pot is already ready.
- JulianSuper, vielen Dank!Great, thanks a lot!
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.
