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Both my friend and I work in same place. What can I say when, at end of the day, we are leaving the office? Is it either "Auf Wiedersehen" or "Tschüss? He is my colleague and friend.

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2 Answers 2

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Both are common phrases used when leaving someone after a meeting or any other everyday situation.

Auf Wiedersehen

is the more polite and formal way of saying this.

Tschüss

should be reserved for friends, relatives and close colleagues.

It would be impolite to use Tschüss for people you do not know very well, or for superiors at your work place. Likewise it would be a little bit awkward to use Auf Wiedersehen for your close friends. You may however well use Auf Wiedersehen when you were at dinner at your neighbours to whom you have a friendly but not too close relationship.

When leaving a shop where you bought something it is advisable to say Auf Wiedersehen, although you may hear people saying Tschüss, too.

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    As another data point, I do use Tschüss with my superiors and indeed, it feels a bit awkward to adress a group of colleagues with Auf Wiedersehen. Jun 2, 2017 at 9:48
  • So you probably have a good relationship to your superiors that allows you to skip formal behaviour. Of course these things also depend on the overall culture practiced at your work place. Jun 2, 2017 at 10:06
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    Yes, exactly - it depends :) I thought your answer too strict and too universal ;) Jun 2, 2017 at 12:02
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    »Tschüss« is only common in Germany, not in Austria. People who say »Tschüss« in Austria are either German immigrants, German tourists or people who learned German as a foreign language outside of Austria. See german.stackexchange.com/a/5076/1487 for additional information about salutations in Austria. Jun 2, 2017 at 12:23
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    @Christian Geiselmann About your last paragraph, is there a big regional difference in Germany between the uses? I lived in Kiel for about 2.5 years and was told Auf Wiedersehen in a store exactly one time. On the other hand, Tschüss was used regularly by store clerks
    – AndrejaKo
    Jun 2, 2017 at 13:07
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You generally can't do much wrong if you choose between "Auf Wiedersehen" or "Tschüss" corresponding to how you did greet someone:

  1. "Hallo" <-> "Tschüss" (rather informal - looks to be the better choice here since you called him "a friend")
  2. "Guten Tag/Morgen" <-> "Auf Wiedersehen" (rather formal)

There's also the option to say "Bis morgen!" (Mon-Thu) / "Bis nächsten Montag!" (Fri), which pretty much works in any setting (except maybe super formal).

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