The most important basic German words and phrases!

This is just a small lesson.

You can find more important German words and phrases by following the links at the end of the lesson.

Basic German words and phrases!

Ja
Yes

Nein
No

Bitte
Please

Danke
Thank you

Vielen Dank
Thank you very much

Hallo
Hello

Guten Morgen
Good morning

Guten Tag
Good day

Guten Abend
Good evening

Gute Nacht
Good night

Auf Wiedersehen
Good bye

Tschüss / Tschüs
Bye

Bitte schön*
You are welcome

Keine Ursache*
You are welcome

Gern geschehen*
You are welcome

Nichts zu danken*
You are welcome

Entschuldigung
Excuse me

Es tut mir leid
I am sorry

Kein Problem
No problem

Note: 

I want you to be aware of a very important aspect.

What is the difference between A and B when you look at the English translation?

A) Guten Morgen
Good morning

B) Es tut mir leid
I am sorry

A) is literally translated (word by word)

B) is not literally translated

In most cases you cannot translate literally (word by word)! Either it wouldn’t make sense or you wouldn’t say it that way in the other language.

When you translate B) literally into English it would be something like: „It does me sorrow“. Nobody would say this in English!

So, it is important to know that you should never try to translate something word by word into another language!

That’s why it is important not to learn only individual words, but whole phases!

And on the other hand, don’t try to understand every German word (at the beginning). It is enough if you understand the rough meaning. Step by step you will add more words to you vocabulary.

*Oh, and just because many students have already asked this: No, it’s not a mistake on my website.

Bitte schön, Keine Ursache, Gern geschehen and Nichts zu danken really mean the same. You should also check out 15 ways to say thank you in German.

In German we often have several possibilities to express something. Don’t worry, if you study with me, you’ll understand it all step by step.