"How are you?" in German is Wie geht es dir? to someone you call du, and Wie geht es Ihnen? to someone you call Sie. In speech, friends shorten it to Wie geht's? The usual answer is Gut, danke (fine, thanks) or Es geht (so-so), then you ask back: Und dir? or Und Ihnen?
- Informal (du)
- Wie geht es dir?
- Formal (Sie)
- Wie geht es Ihnen?
- Short
- Wie geht's?
- Answer
- Gut, danke. Und dir?
- I'm fine
- Mir geht es gut
- Level
- A1
Which German "How are you?" should you use?
The question changes with the person. Dir is for one person you call du, euch for a group of them, and Ihnen (capital I) for anyone you call Sie, one person or many.
| German | Register | Who you ask |
|---|---|---|
| Wie geht es dir? | Informal | One friend, a relative, a child |
| Wie geht's? | Informal | The spoken short form; also fine as a casual Sie question |
| Wie geht es euch? | Informal | Two or more friends |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? | Formal | Anyone you call Sie |
| Alles gut? | Casual | A quick check-in |
| Alles klar? | Casual | "All good?", often as a greeting |
| Na, wie läuft's? | Casual | "So, how's it going?" |
| Geht's dir gut? | Concerned | "Are you OK?" when someone looks upset |
In a Contos A1 story, a curious hairdresser knocks on her new neighbour's door the morning after she moves in and starts firing questions:
Wie geht es dir? Bist du allein?How do you answer Wie geht's?
Many Germans treat it as a real question, so an honest answer is normal and nobody expects a cheerful "great!" every time. It is also why you hear it more between people who know each other than from a cashier.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Sehr gut, danke! | Very well, thanks! |
| Gut, danke. Und dir? | Fine, thanks. And you? |
| Ganz gut. | Pretty good. |
| Es geht. | So-so. (literally "it goes") |
| Geht so. | Could be better. |
| Nicht so gut. | Not so good. |
| Mir geht es schlecht. | I'm not well. |
Why do Germans say mir geht es gut, not ich bin gut?
German doesn't ask how you *are*. It asks how *it goes* for you: es geht plus the person in the dative case. So the person is mir, dir, ihm, ihr, uns, euch or Ihnen, never ich or du.
Mir geht es gut.
I'm fine.
Wie geht es deiner Mutter?
How is your mother?
deiner: Mutter is feminine, so the dative ending is -er.
Ihm geht es heute nicht so gut.
He's not so well today.
Uns geht's super!
We're doing great!
What else do Germans ask instead?
At the end of the day, a family or flatmates are more likely to ask about the day itself. Julia does exactly that when she gets home, and her twin's answer becomes the chapter's cliffhanger:
"Wie war der Tag?", fragt Julia.Wie war die Arbeit?
How was work?
Was gibt's Neues?
What's new?
Was machst du so?
What are you up to these days?
These usually come right after a greeting; see how to say hello in German. And when someone answers that things are bad, how to say sorry in German covers Das tut mir leid.
Read the A1 story where Petra knocks on Maya's door, free for two chapters, and tap any word.
Read free in your browserFrequently asked questions
How do you pronounce Wie geht's?
"vee gayts". The w is an English v, wie rhymes with "see", and geht's rhymes with "gates". The full form, Wie geht es dir, is "vee gayt ess deer".
What does Und selbst? mean?
"And yourself?" It's a common way to bounce the question back after answering, and it works with both du and Sie, so you don't have to choose between dir and Ihnen.
What does Es geht mean?
Literally "it goes", meaning so-so or not bad. Said with a shrug, it can hint that things aren't great. Geht so is similar and a little more negative.
Can I ask a shop assistant Wie geht es Ihnen?
You can, and it's friendly, but it's less automatic than "How are you?" in English. In a quick transaction, a Hallo or Guten Tag is all that's expected.