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Topic test · A2

Phone calls in German test

13questions
8minutes
60%pass mark
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One question at a time, the clock runs. Answers stay closed like a real exam: you see every correct answer with its explanation at the end. Score 60% to finish the topic.

Topic test

13 questions, easy to hard

Pick an option and press «Next». You can go back and change it. Anything left blank counts as wrong.

What does a German usually say when they pick up the phone?

Their surname. In Germany the person who answers introduces themselves. As the caller, you answer with your own name: Hier ist …

You are the caller and you want to leave a message. Which one?

hinterlassen. ausrichten means to pass on a message and is the verb of the person who ANSWERS the phone: Kann ich etwas ausrichten?

Which one is right when you hang up the phone?

Auf Wiederhören. Nobody sees anybody on the phone — “hören”, not “sehen”. For a face-to-face goodbye, Auf Wiedersehen is right.

The other person is talking very fast. Which sentence is the most natural?

The first one. Was? sounds harsh; the third drags the call out and isn’t needed — just ask them to slow down.

While reading out a number, the other person said “zweiundvierzig”. What do you write?

42. German says numbers in reverse: “two and forty”. The first digit you hear goes in the second place — the most common mistake when writing down a number on the phone.

What is “Ich rufe wegen … an” for?

It gives the reason. The second step of the five-step skeleton: first your name, then why you are calling. To sidestep the case question, Es geht um … does the same job with the Akkusativ.

What is the most natural way to ask to speak to someone on the phone?

The pattern: Könnte ich bitte … sprechen? — a request softened with the Konjunktiv II. The imperative sounds rude on the phone.

What is happening when you hear “Ich verbinde Sie”?

verbinden = to connect. The switchboard sentence: Einen Moment, ich verbinde Sie. Hold on, you are being transferred.

You didn’t understand and want a repeat. Which one does NOT sound rude?

Was? is blunt even in everyday speech. The polite way to ask for a repeat: Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?

When you have a number written down on the phone, which makes the job easier?

The safest way is to say the number digit by digit and confirm it: Ich wiederhole … Two-digit chunks (zweiundvierzig) are common too, but they make it easier to mix up the digits when writing.

In Germany, picking up the phone with Hallo, wer ist da? is a polite and common opening.

On the phone you start by giving your surname straight away. Wer ist da? sounds harsh and rude.

To ask for someone on the phone: Könnte ich Frau Müller sprechen?

bitte. When you ask for someone on the phone, könnte ich (Konjunktiv II) backed up by bitte gives the politest form.

Build the sentence: Could you please repeat that?

Tap the pieces to build the sentence

The most natural pattern for asking for a repeat when you didn’t understand on the phone.
Quick rules

The rules in three lines

The full topic lives on its own page. This is only the core you need for the test.

  1. Germans answer with their name

    When the phone is picked up, people don’t say Hallo? but their surname: «Müller.» You introduce yourself right away: Hier ist … / Mein Name ist …

    Müller. — Guten Tag, hier ist Arda Yılmaz.

  2. Closing: Auf Wiederhören

    Face to face it’s Auf Wiedersehen; on the phone it’s Auf Wiederhören — you aren’t seeing, you’re hearing.

    Auf Wiederhören!

  3. Requests get softened with the Konjunktiv

    Könnte ich bitte … sprechen? · Könnten Sie das wiederholen? · Könnten Sie langsamer sprechen? — all the phone requests use the same pattern.

    Könnte ich bitte Frau Yılmaz sprechen?

  4. Say your number digit by digit

    Say the number digit by digit and confirm it with Ich wiederhole. Leaving a message: Kann ich eine Nachricht hinterlassen?

    null · eins · sieben · …

Traps

Commonly mixed up

Where a direct translation breaks. The hard questions come from here.

  • Auf Wiedersehen! (on the phone)

    Auf Wiederhören!

    On the phone you don’t see each other, you hear each other — the goodbye follows that.

  • Wo ist Frau Yılmaz?

    Könnte ich bitte Frau Yılmaz sprechen?

    Asking for someone on the phone is not a question about where they are; the pattern is built with sprechen.

  • Was?

    Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen?

    Was? is harsh on the phone; there is a ready-made polite pattern for asking to repeat.

  • Hearing “zweiundvierzig” and writing 2-4

    Writing 4-2

    In two-digit chunks German says the units first, then the tens. The first digit you hear goes in second place.