Moin means “Hi”, “Hello”, “ Good morning”, “Good night” and everything in between, as long as it is used to greet people.

It is used primarily in the northern German parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Hamburg, the western parts of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the northern parts of Lower Saxony.Below that line, called the “moin-Grenze”, people usually greet each other by saying Hallo (“hello”) and Guten Tag (“good day.”)

Interestingly enough, Moin hasn’t always been used exclusively in the north. It has been around for about 200 years, and back then Moin was also used in Berlin and Switzerland.

The exact origins of the word are therefore a bit hazy. Actually, there is a possibility for different origins, depending on the region it’s used in. The most common origin, though, is the Low German word moi, which means “good”, “pleasant” or “nice.”