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German for the phone

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If you ever have to call somebody and only reach his German-speaking family or roommate, this list of common phrases can save your life. It will allow you to tell them who you are, who you wish to talk to and also understand their response.

Sometimes a female speaker has to use a different wording than a male one in German, just like a woman should say "I'm an actress" and not "I'm an actor" in English. When this is the case, you will find two German equivalents for the English.

Caution: German pronunciation is almost phonetic, but the vowel sounds are unlike in English, more like Spanish or Italian.

I would like to provide sound files with every phrase, so if you are a native German speaker and could record these phrases or some of them, your contribution will be greatly appreciated by the users of this site. Please contact me.

Note: when calling somebody in Germany it is customary to start by saying your name, for example you would start the conversation by saying "John Doe, hallo." The person called will also tell you his/her name first, so that you can be sure you called the right number. Even if you only say "Hallo" at first, it is considered rude to ask to talk to somebody else before having introduced yourself. The other person might at first ignore your request to talk to somebody else and instead ask you "Mit wem spreche ich?"(Who do I talk to?).

English German
Hello! Hallo!
I am ___ . Ich bin ___ .
I am ___'s friend.

man: Ich bin ein Freund von ___ .
woman: Ich bin eine Freundin von ___ .
I am ___'s work colleague. man: Ich bin ein Kollege von ___ .
woman: Ich bin eine Kollegin von ___ .
Can I please speak with ___ ? Könnte ich bitte ___ sprechen ?
He/She is not here. Er / Sie ist nicht da.
Er / Sie ist im Moment nicht hier.
He/She will return at ___ o'clock. Er / Sie wird um ___ Uhr zurückkommen.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn, elf, zwölf
in the morning morgens
in the afternoon nachmittags
in the evening abends
He/She is busy. Er / Sie ist beschäftigt.
I will call back later. Ich rufe später noch einmal an.
Please ask him/her to call me back. Bitte sagen Sie ihm/ihr, dass er/sie mich zurückrufen soll.
Could you call back later? Könnten Sie später zurückrufen?
Yes / No / Okay Ja / Nein / Okay

Do you speak ___ ?

 Sprechen Sie ___ ?
  • English
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Esperanto
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • Russian
  • Spanish
  • Englisch
  • Arabisch
  • Chinesisch
  • Esperanto
  • Französisch
  • Deutsch
  • Italienisch
  • Russisch
  • Spanisch
Sorry Es tut mir leid
I don't speak ___ . Ich spreche kein ___ .
I only speak ___ (and ___). Ich spreche nur ___ (und ___ ).
Could you speak more slowly? Könnten Sie bitte langsamer sprechen?
Could you speak more clearly? Könnten Sie bitte deutlicher sprechen?
Thank you. Vielen Dank.
Goodbye. Auf Wiedersehen.

Additional pages that might interest you:
Learning German on the internet: tips, tricks and resources
Professional (paid) translations from/to German
Find a tutor who can teach you German
Phone phrases in more languages

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