So, you’re having guests over from Germany, e.g. for the holidays, and it’s been a while since you last saw them? Make them feel right at home by welcoming them in German! Let’s learn how to say welcome back in German in all possible situations. Luckily the translations between the two languages are pretty straightforward in this case.
It doesn’t matter whether you are welcoming a single person or even a group of people, the following welcome back phrases work in both cases, as addressing others is the same in both languages on this instance. This changes in the last section when we use other welcoming phrases. But don’t you worry. It’s all explained in necessary detail.
The basic Welcome back in German Language
When you want to welcome friend or family in their native language, it’s really not that hard. And it’s a nice touch, as they appreciate you making an effort. Plus it gives them a feeling of really being welcome. So, what is German for welcome back?
English Phrase — German Translation
- Welcome back — Willkommen zurück
- Cordially welcome back — Herzlich willkommen zurück
- Welcome back, Mr. Schmidt — Willkommen zurück, Herr Schmidt
- Welcome back, Mrs. Kurz — Willkommen zurück, Frau Kurz
You may add the “herzlich” also to any of the following phrases. It translates as “cordial”, so gives your welcome a bit more warmth.
Welcome back to a certain Group
Let’s assume you want to welcome someone back to a certain group of people. Here are some examples for various types of group.
English Phrase — German Translation
- Welcome back to our family — Willkommen zurück in unserer Familie
- Welcome back to our circle — Willkommen zurück in unserem Kreis
- Welcome back in our midst — Willkommen zurück in unserer Mitte
- Welcome back to our group — Willkommen zurück in unserer Gruppe
- Welcome back to our club — Willkommen zurück in unserem Verein
- Welcome back to our church community — Willkommen zurück in unserer Kirchengemeinde
Welcome back to a particular Place
And here are some translations to welcome your visitors to a certain place like your home or your town.
English Phrase — German Translation
- Welcome back to our house — Willkommen zurück in unserem Haus
- Welcome back to our home — Willkommen zurück in unserem Zuhause
- Welcome back to the United States — Willkommen zurück in den Vereinigten Saaten
- Welcome back to the United Kingdom — Willkommen zurück im Vereinigten Königreich
- Welcome back to our country — Willkommen zurück in unserem Land
- Welcome to our village — Willkommen in unserem Dorf
- Welcome back to our town / city — Willkommen zurück in unserer Stadt
- Welcome back to our church — Willkommen zurück in unserer Kirche
Further welcoming Phrases
Once you have welcomed your guests, you will want to make feel right at home. So here are further phrases to make them feel comfortable and cosy.
For these phrases the kind of addressing your visitors varies in German depending whether you are speaking to a single person or to a group (or couple). The address also differs depending on whether you want an informal welcome as with friend or family, or a formal one. We will start off with the informal addressing.
Informal welcoming Phrases in German
English Phrase — German Translation
- Nice to have you here! — Schön, dass du hier bist! (singular) / Schön, dass ihr hier seid! (plural)
- It is great to see you again. — Es ist toll, dich wiederzusehen. (singular) / Es ist toll, euch wiederzusehen. (plural)
- I hope you had a pleasant trip. — Ich hoffe, du hattest eine angenehme Reise. (singular) // Ich hoffe, ihr hattet eine angenehme Reise. (plural)
- Make yourselves at home! — Fühl dich wie zuhause! (singular) / Fühlt euch wie zuhause! (plural)
- Take a seat! — Setz dich! (singular) / Setzt euch! (plural)
- May I offer you a drink — Darf ich dir etwas zu trinken anbieten? (singular) / Darf ich euch etwas zu trinken anbieten? (plural)
Formal welcoming Phrases in German
You will notice that there is only one translation into German for the formal phrases. Thta is because there is no distinction between addressing a single person with the formal “Sie” in German or a group of people. In both instances the words are the same.
English Phrase — German Translation
- Nice to have you here! — Es freut mich, dass Sie hier sind!
- It is great to see you again. — Es ist großartig, Sie wiederzusehen.
- I hope you had a pleasant trip. — Ich hoffe, Sie hatten eine angenehme Reise.
- Make yourselves at home! — Fühlen Sie sich wie zuhause!
- Take a seat! — Nehmen Sie Platz!
- May I offer you a drink — Darf ich Ihnen etwas zu trinken anbieten?
Now, we gave you many possible translations for the phrase welcome back in German. So I hope to see you back soon here on this site. We continue to add more articles about learning the German language and often try to sprinkle in some interesting facts about the country and the language.
And the next time we’ll meet I might say welcome back – in German!
