bis bald
/bɪs balt/
The German phrase for "speak soon" is bis bald.
bis bald is a friendly way to say goodbye when you expect to talk to the person again in the near future. While bis bald is often used for phone calls or messages, it is also perfectly acceptable when you expect to see the person in person soon.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of bis meaning "until" and bald meaning "soon".
Which one should you use?
While bis bald is a general way to say "speak soon", other forms provide more precision. If you expect to speak to or see the person much later on the same day, bis später (see you later) is a more precise alternative. If a specific time or appointment for the next contact has already been established, use bis dann (see you then).
Did you know?
- While bis bald is used for both meeting and talking, German distinguishes between seeing and hearing in formal goodbyes by using auf Wiedersehen for sight and auf Wiederhören for phone calls.
- The word bald is an unexpected cognate of the English word 'bold'.
- To be even more casual than bis bald, some German speakers simply say bis!, which serves as a shorthand for 'until next time'.
Examples in context
- Das war eine tolle Zeit. Bis bald!That was a great time. Speak soon!
- Lass uns bald wieder telefonieren. Wir hören voneinander.Let's talk on the phone soon. We'll speak soon!
- Bis bald!Speak soon!
- Ich gehe jetzt, bis bald.I'm leaving now, speak soon.
- Danke für das Telefonat, bis bald.Thanks for the phone call, speak soon.
Example conversation
Two friends are hanging up the phone after a quick chat.
- MaximilianIch muss jetzt leider auflegen.Unfortunately, I have to hang up now.
- SarahKein Problem, bis bald!No problem, speak soon!
- MaximilianJa, wir hören uns.Yes, we'll talk.
- SarahTschüss, Maximilian!Bye, Maximilian!
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry bis bald, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bald, bis, CC BY-SA 4.0.
