Basic thanks and farewells | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Bis später.

   See you later.

   Bis später

   See you later

   später

   later

   More detail

   Bis später is a common German farewell meaning “See you later.” It is a compact formula built with bis (“until”) and a later time reference; the full meaning is understood as meeting again later. As a reusable pattern, Bis + time expression can name the next meeting time: the supplied context has Bis morgen (“See you tomorrow”). später means “later” here. It is the comparative form of spät (“late”): spät → später (“later”) → am spätesten (“latest,” in the superlative form). In this farewell, später is used as an adverb referring to a later time, not as an adjective modifying a noun. Example: Ich komme später. — “I’ll come later.” Together, Bis plus später produces the fixed farewell “See you later.”

2. Bis morgen.

   See you tomorrow.

   Bis morgen.

   See you tomorrow.

   More detail

   Bis means “until” and is also used in short German farewells to indicate the time of the next meeting or contact. The same pattern can combine it with another time expression: Bis später. means “See you later.” morgen means “tomorrow.” It is a time adverb, so it does not change for gender, number, or case. Compare heute (“today”) and gestern (“yesterday”). Example: Bis morgen! — “See you tomorrow!” Together, Bis morgen. is a concise farewell meaning “See you tomorrow.” The sentence does not state a subject or an explicit verb; the understood idea is a future meeting or contact tomorrow.

3. Danke schön.

   Thank you very much.

   Danke schön

   Thank you very much

   More detail

   Danke is the first-person singular present form of danken, “to thank.” German uses danken with the person being thanked in the dative: for example, Ich danke dir. means “I thank you.” In this fixed utterance, the subject is understood from the expression rather than stated. schön literally means “beautiful” or “nice,” but after Danke it strengthens the thanks. The combined expression Danke schön is a common polite way to say “Thank you very much.” Here, schön is not describing a noun. Together, Danke schön forms a complete conventional expression of strong gratitude. It is polite and suitable in ordinary conversation.

4. Das ist alles für heute.

   That is all today.

   Das ist

   That is

   alles

   all; everything

   für heute

   for today

   More detail

   Das ist is a reusable German pattern meaning “That is.” Das is a demonstrative pronoun; here it points to the matter or activity being referred to, without the supplied sentence identifying a more specific referent. ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. Example: Das ist gut. — “That is good.” The adjective is added after the same Das ist pattern. alles means “all” or “everything.” In this sentence it means that nothing more is included or needed in the current scope. It is a pronoun here, not an adjective modifying a following noun. A useful contrast is etwas (“something”): Das ist alles. — “That is all.” für heute means “for today.” für is a preposition that takes the accusative case; heute is an adverb meaning “today.” Together, they specify the time limit or scope. This phrase is reusable with other nouns: Das reicht für heute. — “That is enough for today.” Combining the parts, Das ist identifies the current matter, alles says that it is the complete amount or completion, and für heute limits that statement to today. The whole utterance therefore means “That is all for today,” matching the fixed translation.

5. Gute Nacht.

   Have a good night.

   Gute

   good

   Nacht

   night

   Gute Nacht

   good night

   More detail

   Gute means “good” here. Its base form is gut; gute is an inflected form of the adjective, agreeing with the feminine noun Nacht in this expression. The adjective comes before the noun. For example: ein guter Tag — “a good day”; the ending changes with the noun phrase, so do not treat gute as the base form. Nacht means “night.” It is a feminine noun: die Nacht. Its plural is die Nächte — “the nights.” In this utterance it refers to the night being wished for, without identifying any particular night by name. Gute Nacht is a fixed, reusable good-night farewell or wish. Together, the adjective and noun produce “good night,” and the complete utterance means “Have a good night.” In this context it works naturally as a brief closing greeting; the surrounding sentences also close the conversation and mention the next meeting.

6. Bis zum nächsten Mal.

   See you next time.

   Bis zum

   until the

   nächsten

   next

   Mal

   time; occasion

   More detail

   Bis zum is a useful “until the …” pattern. zum is the contraction of zu dem; zu governs the dative case, so this phrase introduces a dative noun phrase. Here it is not a literal command to remain somewhere until a time; it begins a conventional farewell. nächsten means “next” here. Its base form is nächst-, and the ending changes with the noun phrase’s grammatical case, gender, and number. In dem nächsten Mal, the adjective is dative, neuter, and singular because Mal is a neuter noun and zu requires the dative. Compare the basic forms der nächste Tag (“the next day”), die nächste Woche (“the next week”), and das nächste Mal (“the next time”). Mal is a neuter noun meaning “time” in the sense of an occurrence or occasion. Its plural is Male, as in zwei Male (“two times”). In this utterance, Mal refers to a future occasion of meeting or interacting, not to a clock time. Together, Bis zum nächsten Mal literally corresponds to “until the next time” and is the established German farewell meaning “See you next time.”