German addresses differ from American and Canadian addresses in two respects: the house number comes after the street name and the post code is before the city, thus making them very similar to British addresses. It is customary to leave a space between the Street and the line with the Post Code and city.
German greetings
- Hallo! Hello!
- Guten Morgen! Good morning!
- Guten Tag! Good day!
- Grüß Gott! Good day! (Used mostly in southern Germany and Austria)
- Guten Abend! Good evening!
- Auf Wiedersehen! Goodbye! ( formal)
- Tschüss! Goodbye! ( informal)
- Ciao! Goodbye! ( borrowed from Italian; popular with younger Germans)
The opening line in a polite German email is “Sehr geehrte Frau [last name]” or Sehr geehrter Herr [last name], literally translating to “most respected Mrs. or Mr.” but it sounds less stuffy in German. Note the feminine and masculine endings: geehrte and geehrter.
For a formal emailMit freundlichen Grüßen (yours sincerely) and Mit freundlichem Gruß (regards) are both perfectly acceptable closings for formal emails.
Alles Gute! - All the best! Best wishes! Viel Glück!
In Germany the alphabet has 26 letters, 3 umlauts (Ä,Ö,Ü) and one ligature (ß). Some letters are pronounced very similar to the English pronunciation, but some others are a little different. Just listen many times to the German letters and the sounds will become familiar.
Saying 'to' in German - 'Nach' vs. 'Zu'
The definition of an address is a written or verbal statement, or the physical location of something. An example of an address is the President's Inaugural speech. 123 Main Street, New York, NY 10030 is an example of an address.
Part One: Standard Goodbyes. Formally say "Auf Wiedersehen." This is the most formal and traditional way to say "goodbye" in German. Pronounce "Auf Wiedersehen" as: owf vee-der-say-en.
Only write on the front of the envelope. Position the sender address at the top left, and recipient address at the bottom right.
Letter Closing Examples
- Sincerely, Regards, Yours truly, and Yours sincerely - These are the simplest and most useful letter closings to use in a formal business setting.
- Best regards, Cordially, and Yours respectfully - These letter closings fill the need for something slightly more personal.
Greetings or Greetings Name. Hello or Hello Name. Dear Sir or Madam (this is outdated, so avoid if possible) To Whom It May Concern (only use if you have no other workable options)
The format of an informal letter should include the following things:
- Address of the sender.
- Date of writing a letter.
- Address of receiver.
- Salutation/Greeting.
- Body of the letter.
- Conclusion.
- Signature of the sender.
"c/o : care of" in Germanvolume_up. c/o : care of. DE.
Beginning the letter
- Most formal letters will start with 'Dear' before the name of the person that you are writing to:
- 'Dear Ms Brown,' or 'Dear Brian Smith,'
- You can choose to use first name and surname, or title and surname.
- 'Dear Sir/Madam,'
- Remember to add the comma.
Spoken Birthday Expressions
- Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag! > Happy birthday!
- Alles Gute zum Geburtstag! > Have a good birthday!
- All das Beste zum Geburtstag! > All the best on your birthday!
- Viel Glück zum Geburtstag! >
- Ich gratuliere Ihnen zu Ihrem 40/50/60 etc. >
- Herzlichen Glückwunsch nachträglich. >
Requirements for letter writing in German (A1-B1 level)
- Date and address;
- Greeting;
- Beginning;
- Main part;
- Conclusion;
- Tell goodbye.