wie geht es dir?
In German, "how are you?" is expressed as wie geht es dir?
This phrase is a common greeting used to ask someone about their current well-being or general state.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, wie geht es dir? translates to "how goes it to you?"
Which one should you use?
The different forms of this greeting depend on whom you are addressing: wie geht es dir? is used for individuals in informal settings, while wie geht es euch? is used when addressing a group of people you know informally. In more casual, spoken German, the contraction Wie geht's? is frequently used to mean "How's it going?"
How does it change in a sentence?
For example, you might say Mir geht es gut. to mean "I am doing well."
When do people say it?
When someone asks how you are, a common and standard response is Gut, danke, meaning "Good, thanks."
Did you know?
- If a German speaker answers Es geht, they are not saying 'it goes' but rather that they are feeling 'so-so'.
- The German word wie is a distant relative of the English word 'why'.
- In very formal business contexts, Germans may avoid Wie geht es Ihnen? and instead use a more neutral greeting like Guten Tag to maintain professional distance.
Examples in context
- Hallo, wie geht es dir?Hello, how are you?
Example conversation
Lukas and Julia meet at a local cafe.
- LukasHallo Julia, wie geht es dir?Hello Julia, how are you?
- JuliaMir geht es sehr gut, danke!I am doing very well, thanks!
- LukasDas freut mich zu hören.I am happy to hear that.
- JuliaUnd wie geht es dir, Lukas?And how are you, Lukas?
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dir, es, wie, CC BY-SA 4.0.
