Is the fishermen's greeting "Petri Heil" accepted all around the world?

I grew up in Italy, in a fishermen's village on the Adriatic Sea. I never heard this expression, and I am pretty sure I've never heard it anywhere in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, I think that a "HEIL" in the southern European seas is one of the most non-local and foreign-sounding expressions that I can imagine. So please don't even try it :-)

posted about 8 years ago

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Federico Giorgi‭

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This answer is based on the meaning of "Petri Heil", I have hardly any first hand knowledge of the use of this phrase.

For starters it is certainly restricted to countries where the majority religion is christianity, as "Petri" is a reference to the biblical fisherman Petrus (Luke 5.1-11 and John 21.1-14).[1]

Then "Heil" is a somewhat outdated German noun used as a greeting. In general it is positive expression, meaning a broad range of things like good fortune, health, success, ... It is derived from "heilig" which is "holy".[2] So the German origin makes it likely that this is only used in German speaking parts of the world. However there are German expressions in English and probably other languages. Generally in technical language you can often find terms from foreign languages. So this is not conclusive.

Combining the two "Petri Heil" means something like "I wish you just as much success as fishing as the biblical Petrus had". At least technically, I guess hardly any fisherman will actually know this.

[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petri_Heil
[2] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heil

posted about 8 years ago

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imsodin‭

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In English, a common greeting used would be "Tight Lines", more on exiting the area than entering, to wish others luck. Although not a literal translation, it is considered equivalent.

posted about 8 years ago

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dlb‭

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I'm a Canuck. My father in law is German and lives there. Whenever he speaks to my wife, he has her tell me Petri Heil, knowing we both fish. Neither of us speak the other's language though I have picked-up on a few, ahem, choice words here and there. The common greeting here is "Tight Lines", the meaning should obvious. Tight lines meaning "fish on" or, I wish you much luck :) And I do believe the answer to Petri Heil is Petri Danke.

posted over 5 years ago

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James‭

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In case you do not mind a regional-based mutation, among Czech fishermen a very similar greeting can be heard: "Petru zdar!" or "Petrův zdar", which has the same meaning as "Petri Heil". However, I suppose the Czech analogue actually comes from German as the Czech language used to be influenced by German in the past.

posted about 8 years ago

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JBI‭

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I grew up in a fishing community on islands north of Scotland, and never once heard this. The folks up there used English and Norse greetings, but not a German one, so I would imagine it is German-specific.

So Universal? No.

posted about 8 years ago

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roryalsop‭

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I moved to Germany in 2018 and had a chance to talk to a few fishermen. I asked them what should I say to a fisherman when greeting him and they told me “Petri Heil”, so I suppose they still use it, but may be not all of them. I live near Luxembourg border, so may be this is a regional thing.

posted over 6 years ago

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Iulia‭

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