How to Say You’re Welcome in German 

Introduction

It’s such a fundamental part of being a nice human being.

Or at least, courtesy demands it…

I’m talking about the simple act of knowing when and how to say you’re welcome in any language.

When it comes to German, people are generally polite and will always appreciate a turn of courtesy when they say thank you in German.

So, let me show you the numerous ways on how to say you’re welcome, my pleasure, no worries, or similar expressions in German, starting with the casual ways and then rising up to some formal ways.

How to say you are welcome in German the easy-peasy way

Bitte!

How do you say you are welcome in German the easiest way?

– Just say bitte!

This is one simple word that you should have in mind whenever you think of saying you’re welcome in German, especially after someone says danke.

The advantage of knowing this is that you never have to think too much, because it works in all scenarios.

It’s like an ultimate car that can sail on water, fly in air and move on land, and you still haven’t exhausted its uses.

Simply put, bitte is the Swiss army knife of saying you are welcome in German.

And yes, it has variations too:

Bitte schön

This applies when instead of saying a plain danke, someone tells you danke schön. Then you reply bitte schön.

Bitte sehr

Just like the former, someone may tell you danke sehr. If this is the case, then you know what to say ?

Here is the most common way!

Gern geschehen!

This is the most common way of saying you are welcome in German.

Even though it actually means done gladly, it has been generally accepted as a way of saying you’re welcome. It is also very courteous and would fit many instances formal or informal ones.

How do you say you’re welcome to friends?

Gern!

That’s just short for gern geschehen.

Kein Problem!

As in English, we often reply kein Problem (no problem) to friends. We want to express that we were happy to do them a favor.

Aber gerne doch! / Wofür hat man denn Freunde!

We also use these two phrases to show friends that we were happy to help them. After all, what are friends for? ?

How to say you’re welcome colloquially

We also have expressions that are rather colloquial and should only be said to close friends, for example:

Kein Ding! Kein Thema! Vergiss es! Schon gut!

When friends say thank you because they think you’ve done them a great favor, we often reply kein Ding, kein Thema, vergiss es or schon gut!

With this we want to tell them that there was no great effort and that it is not worth mentioning.

Watch out you don’t say this when someone says you’re welcome in German

As someone who is used to responding by saying welcome when someone says thank you, have you ever thought of saying willkommen when someone says danke?

That’s a mistake many people make, and you should not fall for it too.

Here in Germany, we say willkommen, or better, herzlich willkommen when we greet someone who is just walking in the door or whom we meet at our home.

We however never say ‘willkommen’ in response to thank you, so watch out for that common mistake.

Up until now, the ways of saying welcome in German that I have shown you are mostly casual.

What if you want to say it the formal way?

How to say my pleasure in German the formal way

Now obviously not all occasions will be casual.

For instance, you don’t speak to your boss the way you talk to your brunch buddies over a beer, do you?

So then, what is you’re welcome or my pleasure in German the formal way?

Es war mir ein Vergnügen

The aim is to express that you didn’t just do it because it was your duty, but that you enjoyed doing it and that it was even fun.

Nichts zu danken

We use this idiom when we want to show some humility.

This can be translated to nothing to thank for and can be used when you feel that what you have done was more of your duty and you don’t deserve gratitude.

You can also use it as a positive gesture when you feel that the gratitude you received was not necessary.

Keine Ursache

Now instead of saying nichts zu danken all the time, keine Ursache is another way of shrugging it off when you feel that there’s no need for someone to thank you.

It is highly courteous, highly polite and highly accepted in many occasions.

Take your learning a notch higher

Now that you have known how to say you’re welcome in German, did you know there are many more ways to say thank you in German other than danke?

Actually, there are more than 20, but here are the important ones: 20 ways to say thank you in German

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be enough to know how to say thank you and you’re welcome.

You need to know how to greet someone and ask how they’re doing, how to ask their name, how to invite someone for a drink…even letting them know you like them.

In that case I would suggest you learn some basic German, and I can teach you in a way you will never forget.

My method is proven and full of fun, and that’s why close to 90% of my students become fluent 6X faster than using other ways.

Let me introduce you to German learning the awesome way.