Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide, Second Edition

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Social contact

60 Greeting

The following are the most common expressions for ‘to greet’ in German:

jmdn. grüßen ‘to greet sb.’

viele Grüße/einen schönen Gruß (an jmdn.) ‘many/best wishes (to sb.)’

jmdm. einen schönen Gruß sagen ‘to give/send sb. (one’s) best wishes’

jmdm. Grüße bestellen ‘to give/send regards to sb.’

jmdm. Wünsche aus*richten ‘to convey (good) wishes to sb.’

jmdn. jmdm. empfehlen ‘to convey sb.’s respects to sb.’ (formal)

sich jmdm. empfehlen ‘to send one’s regards to sb.’ (formal)

jmd. lässt jmdn. grüßen ‘sb. sends his/her regards’

jmdn. von jmdm. grüßen ‘to pass on sb.’s good wishes’

60.1 Using du, ihr and Sie

For greeting, and indeed any interaction with Germans, it is very important that

English-speaking learners of German become familiar with the following guidelines on

the use of the familiar pronouns du (with its plural ihr) and the polite or distant Sie.

Failure to use the correct form can cause offence.

(a) Use of du and ihr

Du/ihr is used when addressing:

• relatives and close friends


• children up to about the age of 14 or 15


• fellow pupils and students


• colleagues in manual or blue-collar jobs


• animals, objects and God

(b) Use of Sie

Sie is used in all other circumstances, of which the following should be particularly

noted:

• with adults who are strangers


• with colleagues in non-blue-collar jobs (often even after years of working
  together)