Introduction

German is the second most-used language in science. Germany is the third biggest contributor to investigations and offers places to study postdoctoral studies for international scientists. To learn a second language successfully depends on how determined you are and how clear your goals are when learning it. This means that learning German does not depend on whether it’s considered a language with ‘easy’ grammar and pronunciation. If you have clear goals such as studying, working or having a cultural exchange in a German-speaking country, nothing will be able to stop you in your learning process, because you will be constantly motivated to reach your goals.

Now, it might be that you have got this idea about the toughness of German language from your peers or relatives. But it will take your hard work and passion towards reaching your goal. For us, English is an accessible language, but for Chinese, this German language is also tough to learn. Here are 10 important greetings that one must know while learning German:

• Guten Tag – “Good day”

• Gute Nacht – Good night: 
• Hallo – Hi: Instead of Guten Tag, which literally translates to “Good day”, try a friendly Hallo. Despite being slightly more informal, Hallo works at any time of the day,  in any situation.
• Guten Morgen – Good morning: Although you might think of Guten Abend as being similar to saying “Have a good night,” it sounds more old-fashioned in German—more like “Good evening.” Maybe reserve this one for formal situations, or when speaking to people who are much older than you.

There is a myriad of subtleties to the way you greet, address and speak to different people in different contexts. Judgment of register — the way you adjust your written and spoken words, and your body language, to fit a certain situation — is one of the hardest things to learn in a foreign language. Note that even in waiting rooms, Germans generally acknowledge the presence of strangers with a greeting instead of ignoring everyone.

• Auf Wiedersehen – “Goodbye”: Even though the Germans have a reputation for being quite cold, they will inquire how you’re doing – and expect at least a short answer. Beware that if you ask them in turn, some people will take the opportunity to relate all their troubles to you!

• Viel Spaß! – Have fun

• Gute Fahrt! / Gute Reise! – Have a good trip

• Wie geht es dir – How are you: The most common way of asking how are you in German and also the first one we learn is Wie geht es dir?. Notice that this is not a greeting by itself, but it rather follow a greeting for small talk and to be polite. You can say, for example: Hallo! Wie geht es Ihnen heute? (“Hello! How are you today?”).

• Was machst du gerade – What are you doing

• The Many Meanings Of “Na?”: Aside from greeting, na can also be used to tease a response from a hesitant speaker, or it can be a dismissive exclamation when combined with ja (na ja), or an expression of reluctant acceptance when combined with gut (na gut). Good luck mastering this little two-letter devil.