Comments | deutsche_kultur: German phone call basics

maiden_heart in deutsche_kultur

German phone call basics

Oct 05, 2007 12:41

Hello everyone. I'm from Australia and I want to make a surprise birthday phonecall to friend of mine who lives Berlin. The only problem is that he lives with two flatmates, so maybe one of them will pick up instead, and I barely speak any German, but I don't want to give myself away by asking straightaway 'hey, Sprechen Sie Englisch?' (which I ( Read more... )

deutschklasse, phone calls, maiden_heart, questions, language

Comments 18

breakingthrunow October 31 2007, 02:40:34 UTC

Would you please put something in the subject line? Thanks.
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If the roommates are under 50, you have a 89.463% chance that they will speak English. ;)

Hello my name is , may I please speak to _____? Hallo, hier ist (name), könnte ich bitte (name) sprechen?

1) '____ speaking' - Hier spricht (formal) or Hier ist (more casual)____(name). (people in Germany usually just pick up with "hallo?")
2)'Yes one moment please' - Ja, einen Moment bitte.
3)'No sorry, he is not here right now, can I take a message? - Nein, tut mir leid, er ist gerade nicht da/nicht zuhause.
4)'No thank you, I will call back later' - Danke, ich rufe dann später nochmal an.
5) 'I'm sorry, my German is very poor, do you by any chance speak English?' - Sorry, mein Deutsch ist wirklich schlecht, sprechen Sie (formal)/sprichst du (casual) vielleicht Englisch?

"sorry"? lawnornament17 October 31 2007, 04:15:27 UTC

Sorry, mein Deutsch ist wirklich schlecht,..
The word "sorry" is used? I've never heard of that (probably because it doesn't happen in "Textbook-land" but I would have thought the native German professor(in) might have mentioned it.) huh...

Re: "sorry"? buzzboomsplat October 31 2007, 05:49:25 UTC

yes, I've heard it in a few different films. Don't use it in an oral exam, though, even if Germans do say it. It's all about Hochdeutsch (until you get to Germany and everyone uses slang and dialect. haha).

Re: "sorry"? sommerschnee October 31 2007, 05:50:51 UTC

The older generation isn't using it, but we, the "young" generation, use it all the time ^^.

Thread 15

kirsch_kern October 31 2007, 14:57:50 UTC

Please be aware that Germans also answer the phone just with their last name also.
My English teacher is also from Australia, so when she moved here, made a phone call and the person answered the phone with his last name (No "Hallo", JUST the name) she was a bit shocked and could'nt say anything for a few minutes because she was so surprised.XD

Just telling this, so that you also won't be surprised.
I pick up the phone and just say my name. Only when I answer my cellphone I say "Hallo" or "Ja?"

And I don't say "sorry"..I hate this "Denglish" in Germany...it's "Entschuldigung" oder "Tut mir Leid". U___U;;

breakingthrunow October 31 2007, 20:28:31 UTC

And I don't say "sorry"..I hate this "Denglish" in Germany...it's "Entschuldigung" oder "Tut mir Leid". U___U;;

My now 79 y.o. Swabian uncle says the same thing... *g*

dumdidum October 31 2007, 21:22:11 UTC

!!!

diehappy12 November 1 2007, 03:09:22 UTC

I completely agree. It´s really NOT that common to just say "hello". Except for one person, every one I know is answering the phone with his last name, at least if he/she doesen´t recognize who´s calling.

And I don´t really like the term "sorry" in german either. Call me old-fashioned, but I still try to use german phrases. (En)tschuldigung or "Tut mir leid" might be good ones :). Of course it depends on who you´re talking to - most of the young folks certainly don´t mind, and everybody will understand you.