Question

What is the proper way to greet older Germans?

Community Answer

Germans shake hands, much like the rest of western Europe. A common greeting would be "Guten Tag, wie gets?" meaning "Good day, how are you?" Older Germans more often use the more formal pronoun "Sie" instead of "Du" (both meaning "you"). It would be best to start with "Sie" if you address older Germans, and later switch to "Du" if it feels appropriate for the relation and the circumstances.