How to Say Good Morning in German
Learn how to say good morning in German. 'Guten Morgen' is the standard phrase. Includes pronunciation guide, time-of-day greetings, and regional German morning phrases.
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Quick answer
To say good morning in German, say 'Guten Morgen' (GOO-ten MOR-gen). It's used from sunrise until about noon or lunchtime. After noon: 'Guten Tag' (Good day). In the evening: 'Guten Abend' (Good evening). In Northern Germany you might hear 'Moin' at any time of day — an informal greeting that works morning through night.
Guten Morgen
/GOO-ten MOR-gen/ — German
How to Say Good Morning in German
German greetings are time-sensitive — using the right greeting at the right time of day is a small but meaningful sign of cultural fluency.
The Phrase
Guten Morgen — pronounced GOO-ten MOR-gen
Copy the Phrase
The German phrase for “good morning” is Guten Morgen (GOO-ten MOR-gen).
Pronunciation Guide
| Part | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Guten | GOO-ten | ’u’ = long as in “moon”; ‘en’ unstressed |
| Morgen | MOR-gen | ’o’ as in “more”; soft ‘g’; ‘en’ unstressed |
Key: The ‘g’ at the end of ‘Morgen’ is soft in spoken German — in casual speech it often sounds closer to ‘n’ or disappears. Don’t harden it to a ‘k’ sound.
The Full German Time-of-Day Greeting System
| Time | German | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise–noon | Guten Morgen | GOO-ten MOR-gen | Good morning |
| Noon–6pm | Guten Tag | GOO-ten TAHK | Good day |
| 6pm–bedtime | Guten Abend | GOO-ten AH-bent | Good evening |
| At bedtime / parting | Gute Nacht | GOO-tuh NAKHT | Good night |
Note: Guten / Gute — the article changes based on the gender of the noun:
- Morgen (morning) — masculine → Guten Morgen
- Tag (day) — masculine → Guten Tag
- Abend (evening) — masculine → Guten Abend
- Nacht (night) — feminine → Gute Nacht
Informal Morning Greetings
| German | Notes |
|---|---|
| Morgen! | Clipped casual “morning” — very common between colleagues and flatmates |
| Moin | Northern German (Hamburg, Bremen) — works at any time of day |
| Hallo | Universal hello, fine any time |
Morgen: Morning or Tomorrow?
Morgen (capital M, noun) = morning → Guten Morgen = Good morning morgen (lowercase, adverb) = tomorrow → Bis morgen = See you tomorrow
Context removes ambiguity, but it’s one of German’s most noted homonyms.
Wishing Someone a Good Day (Farewells)
When ending an interaction during the day:
- Schönen Tag noch! (SHUR-nen TAHK nokh) — Have a nice rest of your day!
- Einen guten Tag noch! — Have a good rest of your day!
- Tschüss! (CHÜSS) — Bye! (most common informal goodbye)
- Auf Wiedersehen (owf VEE-der-zayn) — Goodbye (formal; literally “until we see each other again”)
- Ciao (chow) — Borrowed from Italian; widely used in informal German goodbyes
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you pronounce Guten Morgen?
'Guten' is GOO-ten: 'u' as in 'moon,' short 't,' unstressed 'en.' 'Morgen' is MOR-gen: 'o' as in 'more,' 'g' is a soft 'g' (not a hard 'k'), final 'en' is unstressed. The full phrase: GOO-ten MOR-gen. The final 'g' in 'Morgen' is softer than in English — almost a 'n' in casual speech. Note: 'Morgen' also means 'tomorrow' in German, so context matters.
What is the German time-of-day greeting system?
German divides the day into formal greeting zones: 'Guten Morgen' (good morning) from sunrise to roughly noon; 'Guten Tag' (good day) from noon to early evening; 'Guten Abend' (good evening) from roughly 6pm; 'Gute Nacht' (good night) when parting for the night or going to sleep. Saying 'Guten Morgen' in the afternoon would sound odd — a small social error that marks you as a learner.
Can Morgen mean both morning and tomorrow in German?
Yes — 'Morgen' (capitalized) means morning; 'morgen' (lowercase) means tomorrow. This is one of German's genuinely confusing homonyms. 'Guten Morgen' = Good morning (Morgen is a noun, capitalized). 'Bis morgen' = see you tomorrow (morgen is an adverb, lowercase). Context always makes it clear, but it's worth knowing.
How do you say 'good morning' informally in German?
Informally: 'Morgen!' (just the second word, very casual — like saying 'Morning!' in English), 'Moin' (Northern German, any time of day), 'Hallo' (universal hello). 'Morgen!' with a clipped, casual tone is how many Germans actually greet colleagues or flatmates in the morning — the full 'Guten Morgen' is slightly more formal.
How do Germans wish someone a good day?
'Einen schönen Tag noch' (EINEN shur-nen TAHK nokh) = have a nice rest of your day (literally 'a beautiful day still'). 'Schönen Tag!' = Nice day! (shorter version). 'Einen guten Tag noch!' = Have a good day! These are the German equivalents of 'have a nice day' — said at the end of an interaction, not as a greeting.