How do you say Good morning in German?
The most common way to say “good morning” in German is Guten Morgen!. Here are the main options, when to use each, and how to pronounce them.
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Guten Morgen!
GOO-ten MOR-gen
Until about 10 or 11 in the morning.
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Morgen!
MOR-gen
Short and casual, between colleagues or neighbours.
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Guten Tag!
GOO-ten TAHK
“Good day”, the polite greeting from late morning on.
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Moin!
MOYN
Northern Germany, at any time of day.
Use it in a sentence
- Good morning, how did you sleep?Guten Morgen, wie hast du geschlafen?
- Good morning, everyone!Guten Morgen zusammen!
- Good morning, Mrs. Schmidt.Guten Morgen, Frau Schmidt.
- See you tomorrow morning.Bis morgen früh.
Good to know
Guten Morgen is only for early in the day. By late morning, Germans switch to Guten Tag.
In southern Germany and Austria you will also hear Grüß Gott and, informally, Servus. In Switzerland it is Grüezi.
Morgen has a capital because German capitalises nouns. Lowercase morgen means “tomorrow”, so morgen früh is “tomorrow morning”.
The reply is just Guten Morgen! or Morgen! back. To follow up, see how are you in German.