Free German Lesson 1: Greetings and Introducing Yourself
Level: Absolute beginner (A0–A1). Time: 10–15 minutes. No purchase needed.
This beginner lesson uses simple German with English meanings. Read each phrase aloud two or three times. Your browser may offer a built-in text-to-speech or read-aloud feature; this page does not yet include audio playback.
1. Essential greetings
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Hallo! | Hello! |
| Guten Morgen! | Good morning! |
| Guten Tag! | Good day / Hello! |
| Guten Abend! | Good evening! |
| Gute Nacht! | Good night! |
| Tschüss! | Bye! (informal) |
| Auf Wiedersehen! | Goodbye! (formal or neutral) |
| Bitte. | Please / You're welcome (depending on context). |
| Danke. | Thank you. |
| Entschuldigung. | Excuse me / Sorry. |
2. Introduce yourself
Ich heiße Sara. — My name is Sara.
Wie heißen Sie? — What is your name? (formal)
Wie heißt du? — What is your name? (informal)
Ich komme aus Pakistan. — I come from Pakistan.
Ich wohne in Berlin. — I live in Berlin.
Ich lerne Deutsch. — I am learning German.
Wie geht es Ihnen? — How are you? (formal)
Wie geht es dir? — How are you? (informal)
Mir geht es gut, danke. — I am well, thank you.
3. Short conversation
A: Guten Tag! Wie heißen Sie?
B: Ich heiße Sara. Und Sie?
A: Ich heiße Alex. Wie geht es Ihnen?
B: Mir geht es gut, danke. Und Ihnen?
A: Auch gut, danke!
4. Quick grammar tip
du is informal (friends, children and people who agree to use informal address). Sie is formal and is capitalized when addressing someone politely. ich means I. The verb heißen changes: ich heiße; du heißt; Sie heißen.
5. Practice yourself
- How do you say “Good morning” in German?
- How do you politely ask someone their name?
- Complete: Ich _____ aus Pakistan.
- Translate into German: “I am learning German.”
- What is the informal German word for “you”?
Show practice answers
- Guten Morgen!
- Wie heißen Sie?
- komme
- Ich lerne Deutsch.
- du
6. Your task
Say these three sentences aloud and replace the examples with your own details: Ich heiße … . Ich komme aus … . Ich wohne in … .
Next lessons: Lessons 2–6 are now available in our free beginner lessons directory. This is an original introductory lesson, not an official German language exam.