German in 30 Days 3 Sections8 Lessons50 Weeks
Day 1 Greetings and Introducing Yourself
Day 1 — Greetings and Introducing Yourself
Learn Conversational German in 30 Days
Today’s Goal
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
- greet someone in German,
- say your name,
- ask someone’s name,
- ask how someone is,
- say how you are,
- and have a short introductory conversation.
Do not worry about speaking perfectly. Your goal today is simply to speak German aloud and become comfortable using a few basic expressions.
1. Essential Words and Expressions
Let us begin with some of the most useful German greetings.
Hallo!
Hello!
This is one of the easiest and most common greetings. You can use it with friends, classmates, family members, colleagues, and people you know.
Guten Morgen!
Good morning!
Use this in the morning.
Guten Tag!
Good day! / Hello!
This is a polite and common greeting, especially in more formal situations.
Guten Abend!
Good evening!
Use this in the evening.
Tschüss!
Bye!
This is informal and very common.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Goodbye!
This is more formal than Tschüss.
2. Introducing Yourself
Here are three useful ways to say your name.
Ich heiße David.
My name is David.
Literally, this means: I am called David.
Ich bin David.
I am David.
Mein Name ist David.
My name is David.
For everyday conversation, Ich heiße … and Ich bin … are especially useful.
3. Asking Someone’s Name
Wie heißt du?
What is your name?
Use this when speaking informally to one person.
Wie heißen Sie?
What is your name?
Use this in polite or formal situations.
For now, we will mainly practise the informal form:
Wie heißt du?
4. Asking How Someone Is
Wie geht es dir?
How are you?
A very common shorter form is:
Wie geht’s?
How are you?
Possible answers include:
- Mir geht es gut. — I am doing well.
- Mir geht’s gut. — I’m doing well.
- Sehr gut, danke. — Very well, thank you.
- Gut, danke. — Good, thank you.
- Es geht. — I’m okay. / So-so.
- Nicht so gut. — Not so good.
You can also ask the other person:
Und dir?
And you?
5. Your First Conversation
Read the conversation slowly. Then read it again aloud.
David: Hallo! Ich heiße David. Wie heißt du?
Emily: Hallo! Ich heiße Emily.
David: Wie geht’s dir?
Emily: Mir geht’s gut, danke. Und dir?
David: Auch gut, danke.
Emily: Schön, dich kennenzulernen.
David: Ebenso!
English Translation
David: Hello! My name is David. What is your name?
Emily: Hello! My name is Emily.
David: How are you?
Emily: I’m well, thank you. And you?
David: Also good, thank you.
Emily: Nice to meet you.
David: Likewise!
6. Useful Expression: Nice to Meet You
Schön, dich kennenzulernen.
Nice to meet you.
You can reply:
Ebenso!
Likewise!
or
Freut mich auch.
Nice to meet you too.
For now, try to remember:
Schön, dich kennenzulernen.
7. Pronunciation Practice
Say these expressions aloud several times. Do not rush.
Hallo!
Guten Morgen!
Ich heiße David.
Wie heißt du?
Wie geht’s dir?
Mir geht’s gut.
Danke.
Und dir?
Schön, dich kennenzulernen.
Try to repeat each sentence three times.
The goal is to make the expressions feel familiar when you speak them.
8. A Simple Grammar Note
You do not need to study much grammar today, but notice these two words:
ich = I
du = you
Ich heiße David.
I am called David.
Wie heißt du?
What are you called?
You will see ich and du very often in conversational German.
9. Build Your Own Conversation
Now replace David and Emily with your own names.
A: Hallo! Ich heiße Maria. Wie heißt du?
B: Ich heiße Thomas.
A: Wie geht’s dir?
B: Mir geht’s gut, danke. Und dir?
A: Auch gut, danke.
Now say the conversation again using different names.
10. Personalise It
Answer these questions aloud in German.
1. Wie heißt du?
Example: Ich heiße David.
2. Wie geht’s dir?
Example: Mir geht’s gut, danke.
3. What would you say when meeting someone in the morning?
Guten Morgen!
4. What would you say when leaving a friend?
Tschüss!
11. Speak Without Reading
Now try this challenge. Look away from the lesson and try to say the following in German:
- Hello!
- My name is David.
- What is your name?
- How are you?
- I am well, thank you.
- And you?
- Nice to meet you.
- Goodbye!
Show Answers
1. Hallo!
2. Ich heiße David.
3. Wie heißt du?
4. Wie geht’s dir?
5. Mir geht’s gut, danke.
6. Und dir?
7. Schön, dich kennenzulernen.
8. Tschüss! / Auf Wiedersehen!
12. Practice with a Partner
If you are learning with a family member or friend, stand facing each other and have the conversation without reading as much as possible.
Round 1: Read the conversation together.
Round 2: Look only when you forget a word.
Round 3: Try to speak without looking.
Round 4: Change the answers.
For example:
David: Wie geht’s dir?
Emily: Sehr gut, danke.
or
Emily: Es geht.
or
Emily: Nicht so gut.
Changing the answers makes the conversation more natural.
13. Real-Life Challenge
Today, try to use at least one German greeting in real life.
You might say:
Guten Morgen!
to a neighbour,
or
Hallo!
to someone you know.
If you live in a German-speaking country, this is an excellent way to begin making German part of your daily life.
14. Mini Vocabulary Review
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Hallo | Hello |
| Guten Morgen | Good morning |
| Guten Tag | Good day / Hello |
| Guten Abend | Good evening |
| Tschüss | Bye |
| Auf Wiedersehen | Goodbye |
| Ich heiße … | My name is … |
| Wie heißt du? | What is your name? |
| Wie geht’s dir? | How are you? |
| Mir geht’s gut. | I am well. |
| Danke | Thank you |
| Und dir? | And you? |
| Schön, dich kennenzulernen. | Nice to meet you. |
| Ebenso! | Likewise! |
15. Day 1 Speaking Challenge
Say the following conversation three times today.
David: Hallo! Ich heiße David. Wie heißt du?
Emily: Hallo! Ich heiße Emily.
David: Wie geht’s dir?
Emily: Mir geht’s gut, danke. Und dir?
David: Auch gut, danke.
Emily: Schön, dich kennenzulernen.
David: Ebenso!
First time: Read it.
Second time: Try to look at the text less.
Third time: Try to say as much as you can from memory.
Remember
You do not need hundreds of words to begin speaking German.
You only need a few useful expressions and the courage to use them.
Today you learned enough German to greet someone, introduce yourself, and begin a short conversation.
Speak a little German every day. Confidence grows through practice.
Alphy School
Learning for Life