40
votes
Accepted
How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?
You are right. The correct translation of
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren
is
(dear) ladies and gentlemen
So, »to whom it may concern« seems not to match with »Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren«. ...
- 111k
34
votes
Accepted
The exact German word for addressing a woman with higher academic/social status (The applicability of the term 'Frau')
Other than the distinction between "Du" and "Sie", German forms of addressing people don't reflect social standing nearly as detailed other languages do (and the distinction ...
- 14.4k
26
votes
Gute Anrede für Bedienungen
Meine Antwort basiert lediglich auf meiner langjährigen (und andauernden) Gastrotätigkeit.
In einem ganz normalen Restaurant, einem Café oder einer Bar gibt es:
nichts
Alles klingt gestelzt, steif, ...
- 29.4k
25
votes
Is ‘hallöchen’ appropriate between a professor and a student?
Generally speaking - no.
I would only use this greeting in very informal situations, and the minimum requirement would be that I say "Du" to the other person.
Nowadays, what is considered acceptable ...
- 2,434
20
votes
The exact German word for addressing a woman with higher academic/social status (The applicability of the term 'Frau')
As synonyms for 'madam' : Frau, Madam, gnädige Frau, Puffmutter, Bordellwirtin, kleine Prinzessin.
You are making a very dangerous assumption here: namely that one word can mean only one thing. That ...
- 581
17
votes
Gute Anrede für Bedienungen
Wenn die Gaststätte nicht zu vornehm ist, habe ich mit Chefin bisher gute Erfahrungen gemacht.
Insbesondere dann, wenn die Bedienung eindeutig nicht die Chefin ist...
- 401
17
votes
Gute Anrede für Bedienungen
In ihren „Richtlinien zur Vermeidung sexistischen Sprachgebrauchs“ von 1980 empfehlen Guentherodt, Pusch, Trömel-Plötz und Hellinger, die wegbereitend für den sprachlichen Feminismus im ...
- 9,013
16
votes
What does the author want to convey by ending his letter with »Tschüssikowsky«?
He is just trying to be funny. Tschüss is mostly used in the northern part of Germany. Tschüssikowsky is a stultification.
According to Wiktionary, this term was first used in the German translation ...
- 433
16
votes
Accepted
Wie ist die korrekte Anrede für 3 Personen, wenn man nur von zweien den Namen kennt?
In einer geschäftlichen E-Mail ist die Anrede wie in klassischer Briefform zu setzen. Ich schlage vor:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, sehr geehrte Frau X, sehr geehrter Herr Y,
oder wenn im An-...
- 2,512
15
votes
What does the author want to convey by ending his letter with »Tschüssikowsky«?
"Tschüssikowski" is a somehow humorous version derived from "Tschüss" which simply means "Good bye".
I don't know if there's an official name for transforming a common "standard German" word or ...
- 457
15
votes
How do non-Baviarians respond to "Grüß Gott!"?
The question cannot be answered, because the underlying assumption in the question
How do non-Bavarians respond?
that a person's behavior can be sufficiently be characterized as "non-Bavarian" in ...
- 14.2k
15
votes
How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?
Short answer:
There is no direct equivalent for To whom it may concern in the German speaking part of the world.
Of course there are other things to write on top of documents, but it depends on the ...
14
votes
How does a German say "Nice to meet you"?
I disagree with the previous answers, in part:
I argue that in German there is no direct translation of "nice to meet you", because German speakers do not express it like that. Clearly, German-dubbed ...
- 506
14
votes
What is an acceptable response to "wie geht's"?
Doesn't really matter, there are several options and as those are short, daily phrases, no one expects you to form out lengthy sentences. However, it is common to thank and to ask how the other person ...
- 7,226
12
votes
Accepted
Can the polite form ‘wie geht es Ihnen’ be shortened to ‘wie geht’s’?
The casual contraction wie geht's does not have any personal pronouns. It can therefore mean all of the following:
Wie geht es dir/Ihnen/euch?
It is indeed possible to ask someone "Wie geht's" ...
- 69.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Generisches Maskulinum
Ich halte das Binnen-I für eine ungrammatikalische Abomination. Je nach intendierter Zielgruppe wird man mit dem generischen Maskulinum das Auslangen finden, oder eben beide Geschlechter verwenden ...
- 19k
12
votes
Difference: Ihr vs sie
It is as follows:
du → you (singular)
Hast du das getan? → Did you do that?
ihr → you (plural)
Habt ihr das getan? → Did you do that?
Ihr → you (singular, Pluralis Majestatis, not to be confused ...
- 20.9k
12
votes
Addressing an email
A polite way is just to use a phrase you would use while writing a formal letter, e.g.
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
(cf. https://wortwuchs.net/sehr-geehrte-damen-und-herren/ and http://www.stil....
- 1,303
12
votes
How do you say “To whom it may concern” in German?
You're saying that you're sceptical because it's plural and you're addressing a single person. However, I think that's the actual misunderstanding, because in German formal writing there are basically ...
- 7,573
11
votes
Accepted
"Ihr" as second person singular
It's called Höflichkeitsform, Honorificum or Honorativ(um). "Ihr" was replaced by "Sie" in the 19th and 20th century. It sounds more formal and historically authentic so it is often used in medieval ...
- 126
9
votes
Accepted
Morning greetings?
In Austria you don't hear »Moin« (only immigrants and tourists from Germany might use it). »Moin« is one of those words of who most Austrian think that it sounds very ugly (not as ugly as »Quark«, but ...
- 111k
9
votes
Accepted
Eine Begrüßung für Frauen am Weltfrauentag
Spezielle Begrüßungen für den Weltfrauentag gibt es in Deutschland keine. Viele Männer wissen zwar, dass es diesen Tag gibt,
aber nicht, dass es der 8. März ist. Das erfährt »Mann« in der Regel nur, ...
- 14.8k
8
votes
Morning greetings?
As others have already said, the traditional Moin is not a morning greeting but is used in the North all around the day. Compare with this map from the Atlas der deutschen Alltagssprache showing what ...
- 38k
8
votes
"Ihr" as second person singular
This is very close to the "pluralis majestatis" and is very common in this genre (medieval/fantasy).
And yes, it is also common for literature, especially older work.
It is a substitute for ...
- 1,737
8
votes
Generisches Maskulinum
darf ich immer noch das generische Maskulinum nutzen?
Natürlich, außer wenn der (i.d.R. geschriebene und ggf. vorgetragene) Text bestimmten Richtlinien entsprechen muss, die etwa eine Redaktion oder ...
- 9,013
8
votes
Accepted
How do you introduce yourself on the phone in German?
There’s plenty of ways introducing oneself on the phone in German. You already showed one.
Hallo Tante Helga, Michael hier. (Michael here)
Hallo Tante Helga, ich bin’s, Michael. (it’s me, Michael)
...
- 2,203
8
votes
Eine Begrüßung für Frauen am Weltfrauentag
You could use:
Alles Gute zum Frauentag/Weltfrauentag/...
Alles Liebe zum Frauentag/...
Ich wünsche Dir/Ihnen einen schönen Frauentag...
In my experience though, in Germany, this day is celebrated ...
- 3,138
8
votes
How do non-Baviarians respond to "Grüß Gott!"?
The other answers already imply that "Wenn du ihn siehst!" isn't a polite answer and suggest polite alternatives. I will focus on another aspect. But I have to note that I have often heard "Wenn ich ...
- 81
8
votes
How to say: 'to you, too' or 'you as well'
I usually respond to:
"Schönes Wochenende!"
with
"Gleichfalls!"
or
"Ihnen/Dir auch!"
or, less formal:
"Auch so!"
Of course, to be polite, you could start the response with a "Danke!".
- 2,575
8
votes
Accepted
Formal greeting without specific recipient
The best choice is
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,
Nothing can go wrong if you use this standard salutation.
This is not necessary:
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren der Firma Müller & Mayer,
...
- 111k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible