The best way to learn German, or any other language, is using it in communicative situations, i.e. face-to-face situations. So, do not wait to speak German until you have learned some more grammar, but use every opportunity to speak German to test you newly acquired language skills.

Formal Greetings and Salutations

Cultural differences

Americans often ask “How are you?”, which is rather an extension of a greeting. But when you ask a German “Wie geht es Ihnen?” (formal) or “Wie geht es dir?” (informal) they would rather take that question literally and probably tell you the story of their life. Fortunately, most Germans can ‘deal’ with that question and often respond with a simple “Mir geht’s gut”.

Informal Greetings and Salutations

German “Guten Tag” and English “Hello”

In American or British English, there is no equivalent for German “Guten Tag” (lit. good day). In English, you would rather opt for the expression “Hello”. But German “Hallo” is rather informal, thus, it is not a good idea to greet someone with “Hallo” in a rather official situation. In informal situations you can also use “Hi” to greet someone.