Phone calls
If you see an advert for a job that might interest you, you may have to ring up or receive a telephone call for further information.
You may be asked the following question by an employer, or if your job or work experience is to answer the phone, you may have to ask others:
Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer?– What is your telephone number?
You will hear most Germans saying telephone numbers as separate digits, just like in English. So the number 02806 99 66 33 is said as null-zwei-acht-null-sechs, neun-neun, sechs-sechs, drei-drei.
Occasionally, however, you may hear telephone numbers in German being said in pairs, so be aware of this when listening to numbers.
Responding to an advert
If you're responding to an advert by phone, the following verbs are useful:
- anrufen – to call, to phone
- ich rufe …an. – I’m calling, phoning…
- zurückrufen – to call back
- ich rufe… zurück. – I’m calling back…
You may need to say:
- Ich rufe wegen der Anzeige für Briefträger an. – I’m calling about the advert for a postman.
- Ich rufe wegen der Stelle als Kellner an. – I’m calling about the job as a waiter.
- Ich möchte mich für die Stelle als Kellnerin bewerben. – I would like to apply for the job as a waitress.
- Wann soll ich zurückrufen? – When should I call back?
You might need to understand the following phrases:
Hoffmann am Apparat.– Mr Hoffmann speaking.
Sie müssen...– you must...
Es tut mir leid.– I’m sorry.
Er wird zurückrufen.– He will call back.
Können Sie bitte zurückrufen?– Please can you call back?
Sie müssen zurückrufen.– You must call back.
auf Wiederhören – Goodbye (in phone call)
Did you know?
When making a formal telephone call, you should always start the conversation by introducing yourself, even if you haven't met the person on the other end before – Hallo, Christoph Riegel am Apparat or Hier ist Katja Müller.
People also usually answer the phone in a similar way in order to let you know with whom you're speaking – Frau Uhlenbrock am Apparat or quite simply Uhlenbrock. Germans generally prefer to use the titles Herr (Mr) and Frau (Ms) rather than people's first names.
To finish a phone call, Germans say auf Wiederhören (literally: until we 'hear' each other again) rather than auf Wiedersehen (literally: until we 'see' each other again). It will be interesting to see if this practice eventually dies out as video chats, where people literally 'see' each other, become more commonplace.
