![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.clozemaster.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/word-image-4.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The tricky thing about learning polite phrases in a new language is that it always feels like there are so many that you need to know, and if you don\u2019t have them all memorized it\u2019s hard not to feel rude in conversations. Luckily, when it comes to saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German, there\u2019s actually a pretty simple formula that should make it easy to remember.<\/p>\n
This is because \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German is related both to how you say \u201cplease\u201d in German and how you say \u201cthank you\u201d (which we covered in this post: \u201cThank You\u201d in German and Other Expressions of Gratitude<\/a>, if you want to brush up).<\/p>\n (Photo by ELEVATE<\/a> from Pexels<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPlease\u201d in German is Bitte<\/em>. \u201cThank you\u201d is Danke<\/em> (sch\u00f6n<\/em>). And finally, \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German is bitte<\/em> (sch\u00f6n<\/em>) again (the sch\u00f6n<\/em>\u00a0is optional, but often added as discussed in our list below). So, as you can see there is a bit of a pattern there that goes Bitte\u279dDanke\u279dBitte<\/strong><\/em>. Pretty easy to remember, right?<\/p>\n Since Bitte<\/em> is the most popular pick for saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d, it\u2019s important to know how to pronounce it. The temptation as an English speaker may be to pronounce it like \u201cBite\u201d, but in reality, the proper pronunciation is something more like \u201cBIH-teh\u201d or [\u02c8b\u026at\u0259]<\/a> in IPA.<\/p>\n Bitte<\/em> is an easy-to-remember and universally accepted \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German. If you\u2019re only concerned about the basics that\u2019s all you need to commit to memory. It\u2019s the simplest option, and you\u2019ll never be wrong to use it in any situation.<\/p>\n However, if you\u2019re looking to expand your options beyond that, there are some fun, and often more colloquial or extremely formal ways to say \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German that you can pick up.<\/p>\n Bitte sehr is a higher caliber version of Bitte in terms of politeness, and the \u201camount\u201d in which the other person is welcome. It\u2019s formal enough that you can use it with your boss, but if spoken with a casual intonation Bitte sehr won\u2019t feel out of place within a day-to-day conversation between friends which makes it useful for its versatility.<\/p>\n Bitte sch\u00f6n<\/em> is a Bitte<\/em> variant just like Bitte sehr<\/em>. The main difference between the two is that sch\u00f6n<\/em> is \u201cnice\u201d and sehr<\/em> is more like \u201cvery\u201d or \u201cmuch\u201d.<\/p>\n So where Bitte sehr<\/em> is \u201cvery welcome\u201d, Bitte sch\u00f6n<\/em> is something like \u201cnicely welcome\u201d (which isn\u2019t really something you would say in English, but it is meant to convey a particularly polite or kind quality to the welcome). It is at the same formality level as Bitte sehr<\/em>.<\/p>\n Note: Bitte sehr<\/em> and Bitte sch\u00f6n<\/em> can have the additional meaning of \u201cHere, for you\u201d when you are given or served something. For example, a cashier might say Bitte sehr<\/em>\u00a0when handing you your change, before you\u2019ve even said \u201cthank you\u201d for this reason.<\/p>\n Now this one can come across as a little petty, or overconfident because you are implying you expect thanks in the future. Therefore, it\u2019s best used with people you\u2019re close enough to joke with (or if you want to intentionally flaunt your confidence, go ahead! Who am I to tell you what not to say?).<\/p>\n One other element that sets this phrase apart from most of the rest in this list is that it isn\u2019t a response to a \u201cthank you\u201d. Because you\u2019re saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome in advance\u201d, you use this phrase before you\u2019ve completed the task in question, but you are very confident it will go well.<\/p>\n Though the translation for Gern geschehen<\/em> is not intuitive for an English speaker, think of it like saying \u201cI\u2019m glad I was there to help\u201d. It\u2019s not really a \u201cYou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German, but it is a response to being thanked in the same spirit.<\/p>\n Gern geschehen<\/em> is also a good choice to revert to in all kinds of situations since it is an earnest and not too casual reply to someone thanking you.<\/p>\n Saying Gerne<\/em> as \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201c, is like saying \u201chappy to help\u201d. It\u2019s a fairly casual way to say \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German that\u2019s appropriate to use with your friends or other people you\u2019re close with, but isn\u2019t good for professional environments.<\/p>\n This is similar to saying \u201cthink nothing of it\u201d in English. It\u2019s a way of saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German, whereby you let the other person know that the thing they are thanking you for was no burden on you, and therefore doesn\u2019t require thanks. It\u2019s on the informal side, though it\u2019s not necessarily a slang term.<\/p>\n Similar to the above, Ohne Ursache<\/em> communicates \u201cThink nothing of it\u201d. Although a more direct translation would be \u201cWithout cause\u201d, as in, the thanks being offered are without cause because the recipient completed the request gladly. This phrase would not be considered very formal.<\/p>\n The phrase Mit Vergn\u00fcgen<\/em> is a very formal and fancy way of saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d. This is what your butler says to you when you\u2019ve thanked him for bringing you a tiny crystal bowl of caviar on a silver tray, after which he will retreat into the shadows of your 19th-century mansion.<\/p>\n This phrase also expresses something like the two phrases above! The idea that an action that you are being thanked for was no big deal to you, is a common thread in \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d phrases and this applies to German too, so here\u2019s another one that means \u201cthere is nothing to thank me for\u201d! Another commonality that these types of phrases share is that they are best used for more casual situations.<\/p>\n Nix zu danke<\/em>n is actually just a slang version of the phrase above. It also translates to There\u2019s nothing to thank<\/em>, but No worries<\/em> conveys the colloquial and casual nature of this phrase better.<\/p>\n Kein problem<\/em> is another informal option to say \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German. It\u2019s a one-for-one translation of \u201cno problem\u201d and is usable in all the same contexts!<\/p>\n This is a colloquial and informal \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d from northern Germany<\/a>. More directly, Daf\u00fcr nicht<\/em> translates to \u201cFor that? Nah\u201d<\/em>. So again, not precisely a \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d, but it is something you could say in response to a \u201cthank you\u201d.<\/p>\n Since listening is a valuable language learning tool, here are some video examples of people saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German, using some of the various phrases from the above list, to help you get the pronunciation right and to further illustrate the contexts they are used in.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a great Get Germanized video on saying \u201cyou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German with in-depth explanations, pronunciations, and context for many of the examples we discussed here!<\/p>\n\u201cYou\u2019re welcome\u201d in German: The Basics<\/h2>\n
<\/a>12 Ways to Tell Someone \u201cYou\u2019re Welcome\u201d in German Besides Just Bitte<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n
<\/a>Bitte sehr<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cYou\u2019re very welcome\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Bitte sch\u00f6n<\/strong> <\/em>(\u201cYou\u2019re very welcome\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Bitte sehr im Voraus<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cYou\u2019re welcome in advance\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Gern geschehen<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cA glad occurence\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Gerne!<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cMy pleasure!\/Gladly\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Keine Ursache<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cNo need to thank me\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Ohne Ursache <\/strong><\/em>(\u201cNo worries\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Mit Vergn\u00fcgen<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cWith pleasure\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Nichts zu danken<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cThere\u2019s nothing to thank\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Nix zu danken<\/strong> <\/em>(\u201cNo worries\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Kein Problem<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cNo problem\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Daf\u00fcr nicht<\/strong><\/em> (\u201cYou don\u2019t need to thank me for that\u201d)<\/h3>\n
<\/a>Video Examples of Saying \u201cYou\u2019re Welcome\u201d in German<\/h2>\n