Hände schütteln
/hɛndə ʃʏtəln/
To shake hands in German is to say Hände schütteln.
The phrase Hände schütteln is a general description of the action of grasping another person's hands. If you are referring specifically to the noun for a handshake, you would use Händedruck.
Meaning: grasp another person's hands (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the plural noun Hände (hands) and the verb schütteln (to shake).
Which one should you use?
While Hände schütteln describes the general action, it is more common to use the expression jemandem die Hand schütteln when you want to say you are shaking a specific person's hand.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Swabian dialect, the phrase D'Hand schüttla is used to mean "shake the hand".
How does it change in a sentence?
When using this expression, the definite article die is often used with Hände to indicate the specific hands being shaken, as in die Hände schütteln.
How do you pronounce it?
/hɛndə ʃʏtəln/
Did you know?
- The verb schütteln shares a linguistic root with schütten, which means 'to pour' a liquid, suggesting an iterative, flowing motion.
- In Germany, avoiding a handshake during a professional introduction is often perceived as a sign of distrust or extreme rudeness.
- A firm Händedruck is highly valued in German business culture, as a weak grip can be interpreted as a lack of confidence or reliability.
Example sentences for German are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Julian and Julia meet for the first time at a business event.
- JulianHallo Julia, freut mich sehr. Wollen wir Hände schütteln?Hello Julia, nice to meet you. Shall we shake hands?
- JuliaJa, sehr gerne, Julian!Yes, I would love to, Julian!
- JulianIch bin froh, dass wir uns endlich treffen.I am glad that we are finally meeting.
- JuliaIch ebenfalls. Danke für die Einladung.Me too. Thanks for the invitation.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “shake hands” translations and entries Hände schütteln, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries schütteln, CC BY-SA 4.0.
