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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.

Em1
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Bahadur Singh Deol
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2 Answers2

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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.

Christian Geiselmann
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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. – hiergiltdiestfu Jun 02 '17 at 09:48
  • 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. – Christian Geiselmann Jun 02 '17 at 10:06
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    Yes, exactly - it depends :) I thought your answer too strict and too universal ;) – hiergiltdiestfu Jun 02 '17 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 https://german.stackexchange.com/a/5076/1487 for additional information about salutations in Austria. – Hubert Schölnast Jun 02 '17 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 02 '17 at 13:07
  • @AndrejaKo Yes, obviously there are regional differences. I do not know about Kiel, which is in the extreme North. I have sound experience in Munich, Stuttgart (both south), Leipzig (north east) and Hannover (north, but not so extreme as Kiel). Another factor that influences greeting habits is "class" or "milieu" (i.e. group of population characterized by education, familiy traditions, work life, financial possibilities, religious affiliation etc.) – Christian Geiselmann Jun 02 '17 at 18:13
  • @ChristianGeiselmann First time that I hear Leipzig being described as "North East".. As for another datapoint - Tschüs is the common way to bid farewell in Mecklenburg, too. (Auf) Wiedersehen is something I mostly hear children say while under parental surveillance.. – Chieron Jun 03 '17 at 02:52
  • @ChristianGeiselmann Living in southern Germany for two years now, I must say that I rarely hear "Auf Wiedersehen". Usually people just default to "Tschüss", with maybe an exception of older people, or people whose formal position is significantly different. Shop workers use "Tschüss" habitually. The only people who are really consistent in using "Auf Wiedersehen" to me are flight attendants. Also, my experience's similar regarding "Hallo" vs "Guten Tag/Grüß Gott" matter. Though I'm both young (in my 20s), and not yet quite proficient in German - maybe that influences other people' approach... – notsurewhattodo Jun 04 '17 at 20:32
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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).

Annatar
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