hi
The German phrase for hi casually is hi.
This is an informal greeting used to say hello to someone.
Which one should you use?
While hi is a common way to say hi, you can also use Hallo to mean Hello or Hey to mean Hey. All of these are informal greetings.
Did you know?
- In some casual contexts, Germans use Na? as a one-word greeting and question. It is a shorthand for 'Well, how are you?' and is often answered with another Na?
- In Bavaria and Austria, Servus is a popular casual greeting. It comes from the Latin word for 'servant' and effectively means 'at your service'.
- While hi is common, people in Northern Germany often use Moin as a casual greeting. It is used at any time of the day and night, not just in the morning.
Examples in context
- Hallo Julia! Wie war dein Wochenende?Hello Julia! How was your weekend?
- Hi Tom! Lust, später ins Kino zu gehen?Hi Tom! Feel like going to the movies later?
- Hey Lisa, lange nicht gesehen! Wie geht's?Hey Lisa, long time no see! How are you?
- Moin Jan, wie läuft's?Hello Jan, how's it going?
- Servus Franz, wie schaut's aus?Hi Franz, what's up?
- Hi, wie geht es dir?Hi, how are you?
- Hi, schön dich zu sehen!Hi, nice to see you!
- Hi, alles klar bei dir?Hi, is everything okay with you?
Example conversation
Julian and Julia meet in a park.
- JulianHi, Julia!Hi, Julia!
- JuliaHi, Julian! Wie läuft's?Hi, Julian! How's it going?
- JulianGanz gut, danke.Quite good, thanks.
- JuliaDas freut mich!I'm glad to hear that!
