Different formal and informal ways to say goodbye in German

When learning German, it is best, to begin with, the fundamentals. The first thing you probably learned was how to say hello in German, but you will soon have to say goodbye in German as well. It is essential in all business situations, from politely ending a meeting or job interview to signing off on an email.

We understand that saying goodbye can be difficult, but necessary. So we have compiled a list of all the different ways to say Goodbye in German, from formal to silly, as well as some useful phrases for gracefully ending a conversation and sneaking out of any situation.

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How to say goodbye in German

In German, goodbye is “Auf Wiedersehen”. It is pronounced as “Ouf weeder-zeh-hen”. It is a formal way of saying “To meeting again”. Surprisingly, it’s more commonly used with strangers, rather than people you will never see again.

In more casual settings, you are more likely to hear a simple “Tschüss” [t͡ʃyːs] beginning with a harsh “tch”-sound, followed by the ‘ü’, and ending with a sharp, whistling’s’. It sounds like a choo-choo train leaving the station, complete with a t-chug and a whistle.

English	German	IPA
Goodbye	Auf Wiedersehen	​​[aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌzeːən]
Bye	Tschüss	[t͡ʃyːs]
Bye bye	Tschüss Tschüss	[t͡ʃyːs t͡ʃyːs]
Goodbye, until next time	Auf Wiedersehen, bis zum nächsten Mal	​​[aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌzeːən bɪs t͡sʊm ˈnɛːçstən maːl]
Farewell	Lebe wohl	[ˈleːbə voːl]
See you soon	Bis bald	[bɪs ˈbalt]
See you then	Bis dann	[bɪs ˈdan]
See you	Man sieht sich	[man ziːt zɪç]
Bye, my friend	Auf Wiedersehen, mein Freund	Bye, my friend
Bye, friends	Auf Wiedersehen, Freunde	Bye, friends
Bye, my love	Auf Wiedersehen, mein Schatz	Bye, my love
Goodbye, have a nice day	Tschüss, schönen Tag	[t͡ʃʏs ˈʃøːnən taːk]
Good evening	Guten Abend	[ˈɡuːtn̩ ˈaːbn̩t]
Good night	Gute Nacht	[ˌɡutə ˈnaxt]

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How to say goodbye in German formally

When saying goodbye to a stranger, such as a cashier or your server in a restaurant, simply say “Tschüss” or “Auf Wiedersehen” in German and then leave.

You are more likely to meet the other person again in a business setting. So, just as you tell your coworkers “See you on Tuesday” at the end of the week, it’s common in German to specify when you’ll see them again. Knowing the days of the week in German is useful, but we’ve also included a list of all of them here.

English	German	IPA
See you again	Auf Wiederschauen	[aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌˈʃaʊ̯ən]
Hear you again	Auf Wiederhören	[aʊ̯f ˈviːdɐˌhøːʁən]
Have a good night	Einen schönen Abend noch	[ˈaɪ̯nən ˈʃøːnən ˈaːbn̩t nɔx]
Have a good day	Einen schönen Tag noch	[ˈaɪ̯nən ˈʃøːnən taːk nɔx]
Until tomorrow	Bis morgen	[bɪs ˈmɔʁɡn̩]
Until the day after tomorrow	Bis übermorgen	[bɪs ˈyːbɐˌmɔʁɡn̩]
Until Monday	Bis Montag	[bɪs ˈmoːnˌtaːk]
Until Tuesday	Bis Dienstag	[bɪs ˈdiːnsˌtaːk]
Until Wednesday	Bis Mittwoch	[bɪs ˈmɪtˌvɔx]
Until Thursday	Bis Donnerstag	[bɪs ˈdɔnɐsˌtaːk]
Until Friday	Bis Freitag	[bɪs ˈfʁaɪ̯taːk]
Until Saturday	Bis Samstag	[bɪs ˈzamstaːk]
Until Sunday	Bis Sonntag	[bɪs ˈzɔnˌtaːk]

How to say goodbye in German informally

In German, you say “Tschüss” [t͡ʃʏs]. If you want to be extra casual, add an “I” to the word and it will be a little cuter: Tschüssi!

Need a more refined way to end a conversation than “Tschüssi”? Do you want to leave the party early or don’t want to take part in the research survey? Here are some phrases that will come in handy.

English	German	IPA
Bye bye	Tschüss Tschüss	[t͡ʃʏs t͡ʃʏs]
Bye-i	Tschüssi	[t͡ʃʏsi]
Toodles	Tüdelü	[ty:dəly:]
Take care	Mach’s gut	[maxs gu:t]
Clear out	Hau rein	[haʊ̯ ʁaɪ̯n]
Get off	Hau ab	[haʊ̯ a:p]
Ciao	Ciao	[t͡sɪa:ɔ]
I gotta get up early tomorrow	Ich muss morgen früh aufstehen	[ɪç mʊs mɔɐ̯gən fʁy: aʊ̯fʃte:ən]
I gotta run an errand	Ich hab ‘was zu erledigen	[ɪç ha:p vas t͡su: ɛɐ̯le:dɪgən]
I have some more work to do	Ich muss noch etwas arbeiten	[ɪç mʊs nɔx ɛtvas aɐ̯baɪ̯tən]
I gotta go	Ich muss los	[ɪç mʊs lo:s]
I’m in a hurry	Ich hab’s eilig	[ɪç ha:ps aɪ̯lɪç]
Please excuse me	Entschuldigen Sie mich	[ɛntʃʊldɪgən zi: mɪç]
I’m not feeling well	Mir geht es nicht gut	[mi:ɐ̯ ge:t ɛs nɪçt gu:t]
Sorry, I’m getting a phone call	Entschuldigung, ich bekomme gerade einen Anruf	[ɛntʃʊldɪgʊŋ ɪç bəkɔmə gəʁa:də aɪ̯nən anʁu:f]

Once you start learning German, you will see several German words in English and these are the words that make learning German easier. The similarity between the two languages serves as a moment of relief for English speakers.

How to sign off in an email in German

There are several ways to end an email. All of the ways to say goodbye in German that work in person also works in writing, but here are a few more that are specific to signing off a letter or an email. We have also added the ‘context’ of each greeting in the table.

English	German	IPA	Context
With friendly greetings	Mit freundlichen Grüßen	[mɪt fʁɔʏ̯ntlɪçən gʁʏsən]	Used in a formal context with a stranger
I’m looking forward to your reply.	Ich freue mich auf Ihre Antwort.	[ɪç fʁɔʏ̯ə mɪç aʊ̯f i:ʁə antvɔɐ̯t]	Used in a formal context with a stranger
Many regards	Viele Grüße	[fi:lə gʁʏsə]	Used in both formal and casual settings
Friendly regards	Freundliche Grüße	[fʁɔʏ̯ntlɪçə gʁʏsə]	Used in both formal and casual settings
Warm regards	Herzliche Grüße	[hɛɐ̯t͡slɪçə gʁʏsə]	Used in a casual setting
Kind regards	Liebe Grüße	[li:bə gʁʏsə]	Used in a more casual setting

Some ‘funny’ ways to say goodbye in German

Germans are funny people and they have some humorous ways to say goodbye. Let’s have a look at them.

English	German	IPA
See you later, Peter	Bis später, Peter	[bɪs ʃpɛ:tɐ pe:tɐ]
Clear out, Hain	Hau rein, Hain	[haʊ̯ ʁaɪ̯n haɪ̯n]
Bye, granola	Tschüssli, Müsli	[tʃʏslɪ mʏsli:]
Ciao, cocoa	Ciao, Kakao	[t͡sɪa:ɔ kaka:ɔ]
Ciao, meow	Ciao, Meow	[t͡sɪa:ɔ me:ɔ]
Until then, Sven	Bis denn, Sven	[bɪs dɛn svɛn]
Bye bye, mashed potatoes	Bye bye, Kartoffelbrei	[bi: bi: kaɐ̯tɔfəlpʁaɪ̯]
Take care, sugar loaf	Mach’s gut, Zuckerhut	[maxs gu:t t͡sʊkɐɐ̯hu:t]
Byeee with a kiss	Tschüssi mit Küssi	[tʃʏsi: mɪt kʏsi]

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do Germans say tschüss?

A. Tschüss was once only found in northern and central Germany, but it has gained popularity and is now commonly used in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and South Tyrol.

Q. Do Germans say Ciao for goodbye?

A. German, along with many other languages, borrowed the Italian ciao as a way to say goodbye. You can use this word in informal and semi-formal situations.

Q. What is the difference between Tschuss and auf Wiedersehen?

A. Auf Wiedersehen means goodbye, but more literally, until we see each other again while Tschüss means bye.

Conclusion

In this guide, we have highlighted some formal and informal ways of saying ‘goodbye’ in German. Remember that you need to choose the greeting depending on the nature of your situation.

If you are a German learner and finding it difficult to decipher different words, reach out to italki for professional guidance. Every language has its difficult areas, for instance, many people get confused over the contextual use of bitte in German. If that is the case with you, get enrolled with italki today!