guten Morgen auch
guten Morgen auch is the German way to say "good morning too".
This phrase is used as a response to return a morning greeting to someone else. In northern Germany, you may also encounter the casual greeting Moin, which can be used at any time of day.
What does it mean word for word?
The word auch literally means also or too.
Which one should you use?
While guten Morgen auch is a common response, you can also use more complete phrases like dir auch einen guten Morgen or Ihnen auch einen guten Morgen.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
If you wish to be more formal, you can say Ihnen auch einen guten Morgen. For an informal setting, you can use dir auch einen guten Morgen. Note that in written German, capitalizing Morgen is mandatory because it is a noun.
Did you know?
- The word Morgen shares a surprising ancestor with the English word 'morrow'. Both stem from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to blink' or 'to twinkle', likely referring to the first light of dawn.
- If you use the word morgen in lowercase, you are no longer talking about the morning, but are actually saying 'tomorrow'. In German, the noun 'Morgen' and the adverb 'morgen' are spelled differently to distinguish between the time of day and the future.
Examples in context
- Danke, guten Morgen auch dir.Thanks, good morning to you too.
Example conversation
Lukas and Sarah meet in the kitchen.
- LukasGuten Morgen, Sarah!Good morning, Sarah!
- SarahGuten Morgen auch, Lukas!Good morning too, Lukas!
- LukasHast du schon Kaffee getrunken?Have you had coffee yet?
- SarahNein, das mache ich jetzt.No, I am doing that now.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Morgen, auch, morgen, CC BY-SA 4.0.
