Welcome to Austria

We aim to provide the most relevant and up-to-date information for native English speakers who may be living in, visiting, or moving to Austria. If there is a crucial topic which is missing for you in these pages, then please contact us at info@hallo-austria.at.

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The Art of Greeting (Hallo - hello)

The formal greeting is Guten Tag or Grüß Gott (literally translates to ‚Greet God‘). Knowing is better to say Grüß Sie or Hallo. Friends greet each other by saying Grüß Sie, Hallo, Servus or for younger people simply Hi.

Some guidebooks mention salutations such as Gschamster servant (meaning ‚your humble servant‘), or Gnädiger Herr / gnädige Frau (meaning Sir / Madam), and kiss on the hand. But these traditions are no longer commonplace.

Shaking hands accompanies verbal salutations. Etiquette dictates an order of priority when shaking hands with others. Firstly, one ought to shake hands with the elder or most superior people. There is no difference in the greetings for men and women.

According to a survey by the Spectra Institute 74% of respondents use ‚Hallo‘ as their primary greeting. Why? Probably because it the most neutral of all greeting forms. But be aware that the traditional greeing Grüß Gott has recently experienced another Renessaisance. 64% of respondents said they regularly use this as a greeting.

Here is an informative article from the Austrian newspaper "der Standard" about the ediquette of greetings (in German)