r/AskGermany•
Sad_Date4703

Is it normal in Germany for colleagues to not say hello back when you say hello to them?

Been working in a new company in Berlin a while now. The colleagues on my team are mostly friendly, but others who I work with occasionally or ones I've even had personal conversations with don't say hello back to me when I pass them in the hallway..

I normally smile and say 'Hallo' or 'Guten Morgen' only to be looked like with a blank face..

Is this normal? Could be a culture thing, but where I come from its highly impolite..

Posted Aug 28, 2026, 7:38 AM UTC

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