Grüß Gott

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Grüß Gott (literally 'Greet God', see explanation below) 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. The salutation often receives an ironic response from Northern Germans such as "When I see him".

Grüß Gott is the shortened form of both (Es) Grüße dich Gott and its plural (Es) Grüße euch Gott ('may God greet you'). 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, people wish one another a simple 'good day' in Poland (dzień dobry), Spain (buenos días), and Portugal (bom dia), while in Gaelic-speaking Ireland the popular greeting is Dia dhuit ('God with you'), similar to the English goodbye, a contraction of God be with ye^[1]; today, of course, goodbye has a less obviously religious meaning. A religious origin is still obvious in French adieu and Spanish adiós.

Like many other greetings, Grüß Gott can range in meaning from deeply emotional to hasty and thoughtless. Popular variations are Grüß dich and its plural form Grüß euch, literally meaning 'Greet you'. The greeting'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 Gott ('May God lead you' or 'God protect you'); however, most people shorten this to pfiat' di or more rarely pfia Gott in Altbayern, Austria, and Bolzano-Bozen (Italy).

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.