Grüß Gott

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Grüß Gott (God bless you, literally Greet God) is a greeting, less often a farewell, in the Upper German Sprachraum, particularly in Catholic states. The greeting was publicized in the 19th century by the Catholic clergy and along with its variants has long been the most common greeting form in Southern Germany and Austria.

"Grüß Gott" is the shortened form of both "Grüß dich Gott" (Griaß di god) and its plural "Grüß euch Gott" (Griaß eich god). The salutation often receives an ironic response from Northern Germans such as "When I see him" or due to misunderstanding "When you see him". The verb grüßen originally had a meaning similar to segnen (to bless), although it now means "to greet". The essential meaning of "Grüß (dich) Gott" is therefore "God bless you". Such a religious expression in a greeting only exists in a few countries. For example, in Poland (dzień dobry), Spain (buenos días), and Portugal (bom dia), people wish one another a simple "Good day", while in Gaelic-speaking Ireland the popular greeting is Dia duit (God with you), similar to the English Good-bye, from "godbwye", a contraction of "God be with ye"^{[citation needed]}; today, of course, "good-bye" has a less obviously religious meaning. The French Adieu is used less often than Grüß Gott.

Like many other greeting forms, Grüß Gott can range in meaning from deeply emotional to hasty and thoughtless. Popular variations are Grüß dich (Griaß di) and its plural form Grüß euch (Griaß eich), literally meaning "Greet you". The greeting form's pronunciation varies with the region. For example, in Austria griaß di" and griaß eich are commonly seen, even though their Standard German equivalents are not uncommon either. A common farewell analogous to Grüß Gott is pfiat' di God (God protect you); however, most people shorten this to "pfiat' di" or more rarely pfia God in Altbayern, Austria, and South Tyrol.

In its Standard German form, Grüß Gott is mostly stressed on the second word and in many places is used not only in everyday life, but is also common in the official communications of the aforementioned states. Use of the greeting "Guten Tag" (Good day) is less prevalent, but there are those who dislike "Grüß Gott" on account of its religious nature. In Bavaria, "Guten Tag" is considered prim and distant and sometimes leads to misunderstandings; however, if the person addressed is from Northern Germany, it can be seen as a friendly gesture.

A Northerner's reaction to Grüß Gott is comparable to a Southern German's reaction to being greeted with a short, crisp Moin in the North.