7 Natural Ways to Say Nice to Meet You in German

If you’re visiting Germany, you’ll hopefully be meeting lots of new people. In which case, you’ll certainly want to know how to say nice to meet you in German. Depending on the context and the environment, there are several ways to say this. In this post, we’ll show you different ways of naturally saying nice to meet you, nice to see you and it was nice meeting you.

Nice to Meet You in German at a Glance

All the Ways to Say Nice to Meet You in German

Es freut mich Sie kennenzulernen

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving)
• Where to use it: Anywhere

Es freut mich Sie kennenzulernen. is a popular expression that means “it is nice to meet you”. The literal translation is “it is nice to get to know you”. You can use it in formal and informal settings when you meet someone for the first time.

The pronoun you in German changes depending on your relationship with the person. You usually address strangers and people at work by Sie “you”, when you meet a friend of a friend or a family member for the first time you can opt for Dich “you” instead of Sie “you”. This expression is also frequently shortened to es freut mich or even just freut mich. 

Lean more about German etiquette when meeting someone for the first time.

Es hat mich gefreut Sie kennenzulernen

• When to use it: Farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Work

The past form of Es freut mich Sie kennenzulernen is Es hat mich gefreut Sie kennenzulernen. which means “it was a pleasure meeting you”. You can say it at the end of a meeting. It is a very common, formal expression usually used at the workplace. 

Ich bin erfreut Sie kennenzulernen

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving)
• Where to use it: Formal settings

Ich bin erfreut Sie kennenzulernen. is a very formal way of saying “pleased to meet you”.

It should only be used in very formal settings and might come across as stuffy or out-of-date. But if you hear it, now you know what it means.

Ich freue mich auf unsere Zusammenarbeit

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving) and farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Work

Ich freue mich auf unsere Zusammenarbeit. means “I look forward to our working together” and is a great way to end a successful business meeting.

In many of these sentences you’ll spot a particular German way of constructing complex words, one is simply added to the next. Zusammen means “together”, and die Arbeit is “work”. Die Zusammenarbeit therefore describes the act of working together. 

Es ist schön Dich zu treffen

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving)
• Where to use it: Anywhere

Es ist schön Dich zu treffen. is used for seeing a person after meeting them for the first time. Treffen also means “meet”, but the expression can be more accurately translated as “it’s nice to see you”.

If you want to address a person formally, switch the dich for Sie.

Es war schön Dich zu treffen

• When to use it: Farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Anywhere

Es war schön Dich zu treffen. is the past form of es ist schön dich zu treffen and means “it was nice seeing you”.

For both sentences you can substitute treffen with sehen, which literally means “see”.

Angenehm

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving)
• Where to use it: Period dramas

Angenehm is simply “pleased” and is a very outdated way of saying “pleased to meet you”.

While one wouldn’t recommend using it today, you might spot it in a period piece set a few centuries ago in Germany. 

Other Useful Expressions When Meeting People

Es ist schön hier zu sein

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving)
• Where to use it: Informal group setting

For a more generic expression in which you don’t address a single person try es ist schön hier zu sein. , “it’s nice to be here”.

This phrase works well in a more informal setting, like a birthday party or a meeting with friends. To change the sentence into the past, simply swap ist, “is”, for war, “was”. 

Vielen Dank für das Treffen

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving) and farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Slightly formal situation

Vielen Dank für das Treffen. is a heartfelt way of thanking somebody for a meeting. Instead of Treffen “meeting” you can also use Gespräch “conversation”, das Mittagessen “the lunch”, den Abend “the evening” or simply meeting, which is an English word that’s often used in Germany.

Danke für die Einladung

• When to use it: Greeting (arriving) and farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Party

When you are invited to someone’s party and you don’t know the host, you can lead by saying Danke für die Einladung. , “thank you for the invitation”.

Remember, when you are invited to someone’s house in Germany it’s common to bring a little gift for the hosts, flowers or a bottle of wine. (This is similar to many cultures around the world. But you may be surprised how guest cultures vary.)

Bis zum nächsten Mal

• When to use it: Farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Informal settings

When you expect to meet the person again you can say bis zum nächsten Mal. , “until the next time”. It’s best used in informal settings between friends.

You can use this phrase when you first meet someone or after having seen them repeatedly. You could also say bis nächste Woche “until next week” or bis nächstes Jahr “until next year” depending on when you see that person again.

Ich freue mich auf das nächste Mal

• When to use it: Farewell (leaving)
• Where to use it: Party

Ich freue mich auf das nächste Mal. , “I look forward to next time”, can be used in formal and informal contexts. It is often used after an event that comes around every year, such as a Christmas party.

You may also be interested in these other posts about meeting someone in Germany

• Hello in German – A Beginner’s Guide to German Greetings
• 10 Ways to Say How Are You in German and How to Respond
• German Manners 101 – Essential Guide to German Etiquette

Conclusion

It’s worth mentioning that many Germans don’t use a specific phrase for saying nice to meet you or nice to see you. Greetings and goodbyes such as Hallo “hello”, Guten Abend “good evening” or Willkommen “welcome” as well as Tschüss, “goodbye”, or Bis bald “see you soon” are often used to say nice to meet you.