# How would a German-speaking person say "Goodbye forever"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532 "2014-04-07T05:53:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/1 "2014-04-07T05:53:35Z")
Suppose a German man is about to be led off to the guillotine. (Let’s also say he’s an atheist and doesn’t believe in any afterlife.) Or suppose a German woman is saying “It’s over. I don’t love you anymore, and I’m running away with Hans, the milkman”. Now, in English, in either situation you could say “Goodbye!”–the literal etymology of the word is from the phrase “God be with you”, but pretty much no native speaker of English “hears” the word as anything other than “The thing you say upon departing”. The most militant of English-speaking atheists say “goodbye” without batting an eye, and you can say “Goodbye forever!”, or “Goodbye!” as you angrily slam the door behind you, without it sounding the least bit odd. In German, the word/phrase said upon departing is _auf Wiedersehen_, which literally means something like “until we see each other again”. (There’s also _tschüss_, but that seems a bit breezy if you’re being led away to an execution, or telling someone to go to hell as you storm out of the room.) Does a native speaker of German actually “hear” _auf Wiedersehen_ in any literal sense other than “the thing you say upon departing”? Am I wrong about the connotations of _tschüss_? Is there some third word or phrase I’m not familiar with that would fit such situations? Or is this the Anglosphere’s revenge for _Schadenfreude_–an English expression that German doesn’t really have? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/2 "2014-04-07T06:10:31Z")
Well, they hear enough of the literal sense of _auf wiedersehen_ that they don’t use it on the telephone; they use _auf wiederhören_ instead. As for permanent farewells, in Bavaria and parts adjacent they have the alternative of _ade_, which I think does not imply any expectation of meeting again. But it’s quite colloquial; it might not have the _gravitas_ you might be aiming for in your foot-of-the-gallows declaration. And I have no idea what a Prussian might say in this circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/3 "2014-04-07T06:21:14Z")
On reflection: _Abschied_ means “farewell”. But it’s a noun, not an interjection; a German-speaker would no more say _Abschied!_ on leaving than an English-speaker would say “departure!”. But _abschieden_ is a verb, meaning to take one’s farewell. So I suppose you could say something like _ich abschiede mich_, which basically means “I’m leaving now”, and has no implications as to the possibility of later meetings, one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/4 "2014-04-07T06:22:30Z")
Abschied? ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/5 "2014-04-07T06:39:45Z")
The closest to English “farewell” would be _Lebewohl_. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/6 "2014-04-07T07:17:59Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > On reflection: _Abschied_ means “farewell”. But it’s a noun, not an interjection; a German-speaker would no more say _Abschied!_ on leaving than an English-speaker would say “departure!”. I’m going to start doing that. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/7 "2014-04-07T07:26:21Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > The closest to English “farewell” would be _Lebewohl_. I concur. (addressed to one or more person you address in the _Sie_ mode it would be _Leben Sie wohl_, addressed to several persons you address in the _Du_ mode, or to one person you address in the archaic _Ihr_ mode, it would be _Lebt wohl_. If the persons I address, on the steps to the scaffold, comprise near friends as well as distant acquaintances I’d ask for a stay of execution on linguistic grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/8 "2014-04-07T07:37:16Z")
There is also the expression “Auf Nimmerwiedersehen”, which literally means “until we never see each other again”, but I think “Lebwohl” might be the best way to express finality. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/9 "2014-04-07T07:41:57Z")
> [@Uniqueorn](#): > > There is also the expression “Auf Nimmerwiedersehen”, which literally means “until we never see each other again”, but I think “Lebwohl” might be the best way to express finality. _Auf Nimmerwiedersehen_ expresses not just an expectation but a positive wish not to see the other person ever again. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/10 "2014-04-07T07:55:42Z")
So, _Lebewohl_ when mounting the steps to the scaffold, and _Auf Nimmerwiedersehen_ when storming out and slamming the door after catching your significant other in bed with your best friend? ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/11 "2014-04-07T08:41:59Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > So, _Lebewohl_ when mounting the steps to the scaffold, and _Auf Nimmerwiedersehen_ when storming out and slamming the door after catching your significant other in bed with your best friend? Deal! ---
**Author:** ![abel29a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@abel29a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abel29a)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/12 "2014-04-07T12:39:22Z")
Heinrich Ehrler, WWII fighter pilot, chose the line “Auf Wiedersehen, Wir sehen uns in Walhalla!” as his final goodbye before he rammed an enemy Bomber. I think that would fulfill the requirements of the OP in making sure that this is a proper about-to-die farewell, unless brevity also is important. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/13 "2014-04-07T12:42:07Z")
With a Luger. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/14 "2014-04-07T15:32:53Z")
“Hasta la vista, baby!” ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/15 "2014-04-07T15:35:15Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > “Hasta la vista, baby!” He’s Austrian, FTR. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/16 "2014-04-07T15:49:24Z")
Austrians speak German, FTR. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/17 "2014-04-07T15:54:39Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > Austrians speak German, FTR. Of course. Anschluss and all that. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/18 "2014-04-07T15:55:30Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > Austrians speak German, FTR. Oy. One really shouldn’t have to put 🙂 after absolutely everything, should they? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/19 "2014-04-07T18:16:34Z")
I majored in German and really never thought about it or asked (or just learned and forgot). So I asked my friend from Frankfurt about this and here’s his response: > [@](#): > > Difficult. We have “Ade” in German language which in my understanding doesn’t have to connotation of “till next time” like “Auf Wiedersehen”. BUT: “Ade” is used in Southern Germany, Baden-Wurttemberg and for them it might have this addl connotation I am not aware of. Duden says that it means “Lebewohl” as an “Abschiedsgruss” so it seems to come near to the meaning I understand when hearing “Ade”. Still, it sounds strange as an execution farewell. And even “Ade” is not much more in use, mostly in rural areas and between elderly people. > Thinking further, there is “Adieu” in German, again it made it from obviously French through Southern German dialect into German. It’s Northern German equivalent is “Tschuess” which may sound to easy for non-native speakers, but in Northern Germany it has exactly this meaning. “Adieu” disappeared from German after 1914, end of WWI when the anti-French propaganda was at its max. > Still, it sounds for me the best way to say “Adieu” or “Tschuess”. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532/20 "2014-04-07T19:06:22Z")
It’s actually sounds a bit oxymoronic from an English-speaking perspective. _Hallo Caüst!_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-a-german-speaking-person-say-goodbye-forever/685532.md?page=2)