How to say goodbye in German

Here are a couple of alternatives to saying goodbye in German. There are probably 100 ways but I want to give you my most helpful ones. I also have a podcast episode on the topic.

#1 Tschüss

Or much more colloquial: Tschüss.

You can also say:

Tschüss, bis nächste Woche. (bye, see you next week)

Or: Tschüss, bis morgen. (bye, until tomorrow)

#2 Bis später

You say this if you see the person later today. It literally means: until later.

#3 Ciao

ciao, tschau (“goodbye“, in Switzerland also “hello”)

#4 Auf Wiedersehen

This one means “to see you again”. The word “wieder” implies again.

#5 Bis nachher

We use this to say goodbye until later today. “nachher” means in a couple of hours.

Listen to this blog post instead via my podcast to learn German.

How to say goodbye after a meeting in German

In modern times many meetings take place online via phone or zoom call. So how do you say goodbye here?

#6 Vielen Dank für das angenehme Gespräch.

English translation: Thank you for the pleasant conversation.

#7 Vielen Dank für das nette Telefonat.

Thank you for the pleasant call.

#8 Vielen Dank für den heutigen Unterricht.

If you are a student learning German you could say after the lesson this one. English translation: Thank you for today’s lesson.

To wish someone a nice weekend in German

#9 Ich wünsche Ihnen ein schönes Wochenende.

The Ihnen here refers to the formal you. If you want to be more informal you could use the same with dir.

Informal: Ich wünsche dir ein schönes Wochenende.

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Feeling confused? I have great Self Study Courses where I walk you through the German language step by step. You can choose your level and start learning even today.

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