The 'adieu' is a very common way of saying good bye here yet not with the French meaning of 'never see you again'.

(The German may also not know the the habits here but he/she will simply be considered rude because that's what we expect Germans to be, ROFL). Does it come from a non-German it still isn't but at the same time you basically 'out' yourself as a foreigner who doesn't know the habits here/the rules in the German language of Sie and Du = you have a chance it's tolerated. The 'tschüss' of Germans is not appreciated here. In Switzerland it is only used for people you are on first name bases with (in the Swiss way. It also works the other way: If someone calls you and starts 'Servus, hier is der Franz!', a 'Guten Tag' can tell the caller to go to a more formal level.Tschüss is used in Germany for anybody. If you answer with a careful 'Guten Tag' you indicate a certain distance to the caller.

For example, if someone calls you on the phone and says 'Guten Tag, mein Name ist.' and you answered 'Hallo' you'd indicate that it would be ok for you to have a less formal conversation. That being said: You can also change the level of formality using different expressions. Personally (whithout any reference for proof) I'd say that 'Tschau' would be considered a level less formal than 'Tschüss'. One exception is when being greeted very formally - I'd never answer 'Auf Wiedersehen' with 'Tschüss' - maybe just 'Wiedersehen', but mostly also 'Auf Wiedersehen'.Īs to formality: 'Tschüss' and 'Tschau' are both informal. That's why I'd always answer 'Tschüss', no matter whether the other person said 'Tschüss' or 'Tschau'. I actually never say 'Ciao' (or the German 'Tschau') myself, but I often use 'Tschüss'. Actually, it's a matter of personal taste and the situation. There is no 'rule' that defines how to answer when being greeted. N.B.: I have edited the post to include the German spelling of ciao (or: tschau), yet regardless of this, the question does not pertain to the Italian use or pronunciation of the word, only the German. I pose these questions because I don't want to get into any awkward social situations.

Is one of the two considered to be a bit more formal than the other? If not, does one age group tend to use one more than the other? (For example: older age group uses tschüss more).

Is the mixing due to any particular reason? Or is it just random, like it can be in English? (For example: A: cya.

In more formal situations it seems that I don't hear ciao (or: tschau) as much as I do tschüss. Sometimes it seems as if there is a formality factor in this. This has struck me as odd because when I say tschüss, I usually expect to hear tschüss back and the same with ciao (or: tschau). I find often that when I say tschüss, someone will reply with ciao (or: tschau) and vice-versa.

Tschus or tschuss