schön, dich wiederzusehen
The German phrase for "nice to see you again" is schön, dich wiederzusehen.
This phrase is a friendly greeting used when meeting someone you have met before. Note that it implies a prior acquaintance. If you are meeting someone for the very first time, you should use schön, dich kennenzulernen (nice to meet you) instead.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, schön, dich wiederzusehen translates to "nice, you again-to-see".
Which one should you use?
You can use Schön, dich wieder einmal zu sehen to be slightly more emphatic, meaning "Nice to see you once again".
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase changes depending on who you are addressing. If you are greeting a group of people you are on informal terms with, replace dich with euch to say schön, euch wiederzusehen. For formal address, replace dich with Sie, as in schön, Sie wiederzusehen.
Did you know?
- Germans may accompany this phrase with a brief touch on the arm or a nod, but a full hug is typically reserved for very close friends and family.
- The formal Sie used in schön, Sie wiederzusehen is always capitalized, even in the middle of a sentence, to distinguish it from the word for 'they'.
- The word schön comes from the Proto-Germanic word *skauniz.
Examples in context
- Wie schön, dich wiederzusehen, Tom!How nice to see you again, Tom.This sentence shows how to use the phrase when addressing a specific person like Tom.Tatoeba #363451 by Wolf, translation #37435 by CK
- Schön, dich wiederzusehen!Nice to see you again.This is a simple way to use the phrase as a greeting.Tatoeba #1985465 by Alois, translation #53411 by CK
- Schön, Sie wiederzusehen, Herr MüllerNice to see you again, Mr. Müller
- Es freut mich, Sie erneut zu sehen, Frau SchmidtIt pleases me to see you again, Mrs. Schmidt
- Schön, dich wiederzusehen, LisaNice to see you again, Lisa
- Es freut mich, dich erneut zu sehen, PeterIt pleases me to see you again, Peter
- Es ist schön, dich wiederzusehen.It is nice to see you again.
Example conversation
Laura and Lukas meet at a cafe after a few months.
- LauraHallo Lukas, schön, dich wiederzusehen!Hello Lukas, nice to see you again!
- LukasHallo Laura! Ich mich auch sehr.Hello Laura! Me too, very much.
- LauraWie geht es dir heute?How are you doing today?
- LukasMir geht es prima, danke!I am doing great, thanks!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dich, schön, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
