What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally translates to "it goes well to me."
Which one should you use?
The form mir geht's gut expresses that you are doing well, whereas the English "I'm OK" can sometimes imply a state that is merely neutral.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The form mir geht's gut is an abbreviated version used in casual conversations. For a more formal or deliberate tone, you can use the full form mir geht es gut. In formal contexts, Alles ist in Ordnung can also be used to mean "Everything is in order."
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Bavaria, you may hear Mir geht's guad to mean "I'm feeling good." In Switzerland, the informal phrase Es goht guet is used to say "It's going well."
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase mir geht's gut is a contraction of mir geht es gut. It uses the dative pronoun mir (to me) because the German construction for expressing how one is doing requires the dative case.
When do people say it?
When responding to someone asking how you are, you can also use the polite form Es geht mir gut, danke. to say "I'm fine, thank you."
Did you know?
- In some German dialects, the word mir can actually mean 'we' rather than 'me'. This happened because the word 'wir' (we) merged with older verb endings over centuries.
- If you are not doing well, you can simply say Es geht to mean 'it's going' or 'so-so', which is closer to the neutral English 'I'm OK'.
- While mir geht's gut is the standard way to say you are doing well, German has no single word that perfectly captures the multi-purpose English 'OK' in every context.
Examples in context
- Mir geht's gut.I'm OK.This example shows how to use the phrase mir geht's gut.Tatoeba #341452 by MUIRIEL, translation #433763 by CK
- Danke, mir geht's gut.Thanks, I'm doing well.
- Keine Sorge, mir geht's gut.Don't worry, I'm doing fine.
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix meet at a café.
- HannahHallo Felix, wie geht es dir?Hello Felix, how are you?
- FelixDanke, mir geht's gut!Thanks, I'm doing well!
- HannahDas freut mich zu hören.I'm happy to hear that.
- FelixUnd wie geht es dir, Hannah?And how are you, Hannah?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
