Greeting

Normally one always mentions her first. In this “chapter” however he get’s mentioned first, because he is usually the one, who makes the first steps.

This is “ritterlich = knightly", as it makes things easier for the lady.

Who greets whom?

He greets her.

Younger ones greet elder ones.

Those, who come, greet those, who were already there.

After having greeted someone, one shakes hands. He waits for her to reach out her hand. The younger one waits for the hand of the older one to be reached out.

Staying seated?

He always stands up, if he greets someone!

She normally stays seated. Young ladies however stand up to greet (remarkably!…) elder ladies - usually ladies “aren’t” older however ... - Accordingly it’s probably better to say: stand up for ladies you get to know as mothers or grandmothers of your friends.

Handshake and “Handkuss”

Gloves get pulled off before you shake hands.

Never shake hands and don’t look into the other one’s eyes. This is one of the most typical cases in which impoliteness appears as a lack of self confidence!

Unfortunately the hand-kiss has become problematic. It is no longer a usual way of greeting. Ladies, who’d like it, can show this by the way how they reach out their hand. In every case the hand does not really get kissed, not get touched with the mouth! - It is a gesture of respect, one could even say of worship, not a way to get sexually closer to someone! Therefore this respect should not be shown to one lady and not to another one as well. - If a lady doesn’t get greeted first, she shouldn’t look for a hand-kiss, which another lady hasn’t received as well ... - Accordingly it just harbours many risks of misunderstandings nowadays. - Well, unfortunately! …

One thing has however changed to the better: In the past one said, that one shouldn’t greet young girls with a hand-kiss. This appears as nonesense today! If girls, can already smooch with someone in public while they chew their bubblegum, they can also already get a hand-kiss ...

Saying good bye

Here we find the same rules. She says good bye to him … and so on.

Those, who leave, say good bye to those, who stay.

However you only shake hands if you already know each other quite well.

On the phone:

If one doesn’t know, who’s calling, one says one’s name! The other one should get to know who she or he is talking to, instead of having to ask. – Greeting in specific ways, like “guten Morgen = good morning” or “guten Abend = good evening” appears always sophisticated. – First impression! …

“Fräulein”

The German “Fräulein” has burned itself into the memory of the American people. - No wonder, German Fräuleins can be soo “hot“ … - No, this pun wasn’t really good! … - So quickly back to the word “Fräulein”: It means “Miss” or actually “little lady”, but became something like a name for young female Germans. In Europe the word has almost been wiped out however. - But who cares for Europe!!! … - It is one of the great advantages of German-American lifestyle, that Americans still use it!!!: Fräulein! - However one should not use it to talk to a young lady, you don’t know: Saying “Hello, Fräulein” is awfully primitive!!! - She is a lovely Fräulein and she get’s called Fräulein in the Combination with her name: “Fräulein Germerika”. That’s it. - No, not yet completely: Let US use it once more: Fräulein! - this word is soo enchanting!

Getting to Know people

In the German culture there are two different approaches to do this politely: “Vorstellen = introducing” and “Bekannt machen = making acquainted”.

Vorstellen:

He gets “vorgestellt = introduced” to her!

Younger ones get introduced to elder ones. In this case also younger ladies to elder men.

The new one gets introduced to those, who already knew each other.

„Germerika, may I introduce Mr. Hecker to you.”

It’s correct for him to ask an already known person to introduce him to those, he doesn’t know yet:

“May I ask you to introduce myself to your pretty friend/ the lady?”

“May I ask you to introduce myself to your wife, Mr. Y, Sir?”

“May I introduce my girlfriend X to you, Mr.Y, and ask you to introduce us to your wife?”

Bekannt machen:

The following kinds of people get “bekannt gemacht = made acquainted” to each other:

Gentleman of the same age

Ladies of the same age

Equally old couples

Introducing oneself:

You should expect from others that they introduce you!

If the circumstances make it necessary to introduce yourself nonetheless, you say: “May I introduce myself to you? - Germerika.”

Once unmarried people would have been expected to say their first names and their surnames. Today however this appears rather like an anachronism. Teenagers should however follow this rule, if they have to introduce themselves to parents. However they actually should always be introduced (vorgestellt) in such a case!

After the Introduction/ Vorstellung/ Bekanntmachung

Actually he greets with a bow, while she just let’s her head sink a bit. Today however the male version appears strange under usual circumstances.

Different military units have already had different rules for this in the past.

HECKER’S SPECIAL HINT

Sniffing at someone (especially on the back side!) is usual among dogs. Humans however should urgently let it be! …