formal daytime greeting — from morning until early evening, roughly 10 am to 6 pm. Unlike "hallo", it's required in business contexts: with strangers, customers, superiors, in shops, in formal correspondence.
formelle Tagesgruß-Formel; abgekürzt aus "(ich wünsche Ihnen) einen guten Tag" — daher der Akkusativ.
Formality scale from "Hi" to "Sehr geehrte …". "Guten Tag" is the safe formal choice in any unfamiliar context.
§Formality · when to use what
Greeting
Register
Context
Hi
INFORMAL
friends, youth, chat
Hallo
NEUTRAL
nearly anywhere — safe default
Guten Tag
FORMAL
business, shops, with strangers
Grüß Gott
FORMAL
Bavaria, Austria — equivalent to Guten Tag
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren
VERY FORMAL
business letters, email
§Gebrauch · where it fits
IN A SHOP / SERVICE
Guten Tag, was darf es sein?
Good day, what can I get you?
Guten Tag, ich hätte gern ein Brot.
Good day, I'd like a loaf of bread.
Even YOU as the customer start with "Guten Tag" — it's expected
BUSINESS CONTEXT
Guten Tag, Frau Müller!
Good day, Mrs. Müller!
with surname and Frau/Herr — extra polite
Guten Tag, mein Name ist Schmidt.
Good day, my name is Schmidt.
PHONE
Guten Tag, Firma Meier, Sekretariat.
Good day, Meier Company, secretary's office.
Guten Tag, hier ist Schmidt.
Good day, this is Schmidt speaking.
standard business phone etiquette
IN PUBLIC / WITH STRANGERS
Entschuldigung, guten Tag — wo ist der Bahnhof?
Excuse me, good day — where's the station?
Guten Tag — geht es Ihnen gut?
Good day — are you alright?
e.g. when you see a passer-by in trouble
Key grammar point: Morgen/Tag/Abend take -en (masculine nouns, Akk. Sg. m ends in -en), but Nacht takes -e (die Nacht is feminine, Akk. Sg. f keeps the base form without -n).
"Guten Tag" is short for "Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Tag" ("I wish you a good day"). That's why it's accusative: "einen guten Tag" → "Guten Tag". The same rule explains "Guten Morgen", "Guten Abend" and the twist in "Gute Nacht": der Morgen/Tag/Abend are masculine (Akk. m = -en), while die Nacht is feminine (Akk. f keeps the base form; the adjective gets -e).
§Значения
good day, hello (formal)
höfliche Tagesbegrüßung zwischen ca. 10 und 18 Uhr
The standard formal daytime greeting.
официальноенейтральное
☞ The standard response is the same: "Guten Tag". Not answering is considered rude.
Guten Tag, Frau Müller!
— Good day, Mrs. Müller!
Guten Tag — kann ich Ihnen helfen?
— Good day — may I help you?
a good day (literal, in einen guten Tag)
als wörtliche Akkusativ-Konstruktion: "einen guten Tag"
нейтральное
☞ Outside the greeting function, "guten Tag" is a regular adjective+noun phrase in the accusative: "Ich hatte einen guten Tag" = "I had a good day".