# Telephone Greeting in Germany **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495 "2003-07-28T19:01:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/1 "2003-07-28T19:01:48Z")
My co-worker needs to know what they say in Germany when they answer the phone. Can anyone help? ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/2 "2003-07-28T19:08:06Z")
IIRC from High School German 25 years ago, Herr Schaefer told it was…“ALL-O” ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/3 "2003-07-28T19:09:44Z")
Thanks. I found a web site that said they answer by saying their last name but my co-worker said the Chinese greeting that was listed there wasn’t right so we wanted to make sure. ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/4 "2003-07-28T20:28:50Z")
It is much more common in continental Europe (including Germany) to state your name when you answer the phone. ---
**Author:** ![mkl12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@mkl12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkl12)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/5 "2003-07-28T20:48:26Z")
No, it is actually considered rude to just say hallo. You say your last name, then the caller says their name and any greetings, like “Hallo” or “Guten Tag” come after that. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/6 "2003-07-28T20:51:08Z")
My German friends usually answer: “Allo, ich bin _insert name here_” I have occassionally heard the last-name approach as well, as in “Allo, _last name_” or even just last name, but the first seems friendliest to me. ---
**Author:** ![vertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3ec8ea/32.png) [@vertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vertigo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/7 "2003-07-28T21:12:30Z")
Then you say something like “Darf Ich bitte Helmut sprechen?” ---
**Author:** ![Cillasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@Cillasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cillasi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/8 "2003-07-28T21:59:45Z")
Informally, it’s “Bitte?” I remember it from when a friend’s mom was here from Germany. I don’t know what it means, but she always answered the phone with “Bitte?” (pronounced bitta). ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/9 "2003-07-28T23:58:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pulykamell \* > \*\*My German friends usually answer: > > “Allo, ich bin _insert name here_” > > \*\* Many folks I knew in Germany and Switzerland answered their phones “hallo, ich bin”, and totally omitted the last name. This was on personal phones. In the office they often answered just their last name, or answered “_last name_ hier”. Or sometimes, “Ja, _last name_”. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/10 "2003-07-29T00:58:18Z")
Bitte means please or excuse me. If it has another meaning, I don’t know what it is. I think in the phone context it might mean “please go ahead and speak” or something. just a WAG, really, but the first sentece is true! ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/11 "2003-07-29T01:40:48Z")
When my German sister is visiting me, she always answers the phone, “Hello, here is Sonja.” I’m assuming she just translated her standard German greeting. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/12 "2003-07-29T02:03:29Z")
Well, I know that when you **end** a conversation in Germany, you say “Auf weiderhoren” (until I _hear_ you again) instead of the more familiar “auf weidersehen” (until I see you again). Because on teh phone of course you can’t _see_ anyone. ---
**Author:** ![blahedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@blahedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blahedo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/13 "2003-07-29T03:37:50Z")
And letters can be informally ended with “Auf wiederschrieben” (‘write’). When I was taking German back in the 80s we were taught that the phone was answered “Hallo, hier \”, rather than “Hallo, ich bin \”; which makes marginally more sense, inasmuch as any linguistic thing can be said to “make sense”… ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/14 "2003-07-29T08:10:20Z")
Well, from my personal experience (more than 15 years living and working in Germany; being a German native) most people answer the phone by saying just their last name, or saying “\ hier”, or “Hallo, hier ist \”. The person calling usually answers with something like: “Guten Morgen, Herr/Frau \ hier”. It is usually considered rude if you only say “Hallo”. Here in the Netherlands it’s usually “Met \” or “Met \”. Personally, I prefer the Italian phone greeting of “Pronto?”. ---
**Author:** ![Wonko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Wonko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wonko)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/15 "2003-07-29T08:29:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blahedo \* > \*\*And letters can be informally ended with “Auf wiederschrieben” (‘write’). > > […] \*\* Speaking as a native German: [ul] [li]There is nothing like “Auf wiederschreiben”. We don’t have a corresponding expression like “Auf Wiederhören/Wiedersehen” (“hear again from you/see you”) for ending letters[/li][li]The correct spelling for the English word “hello” in German is “hallo”, not “allo”, the “h” is pronounced.[/li][li]Formal answers to a call would be “\?” or “\, \?”. Informal is “Hallo?” or “\, hallo?”. In these informal situations and at home it is acceptable (and not so uncommon) for the called person not to name themselves but to wait for the caller to identify first.[/li][/ul] Tschüß, Wonko ---
**Author:** ![Somnambulist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Somnambulist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Somnambulist)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/16 "2003-07-29T12:01:22Z")
Small hijack… The Japanese ace it for the coolest telephone greeting - even after two year’s in Tokyo for some reason answering the phone and saying “mushi, mushi” still made me smile! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2003, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/17 "2003-07-29T12:09:45Z")
To the tune of _London Bridge is Falling Down_: _Moshi moshi, ono ne Ono ne, ono ne Moshi moshi, ono ne Ono ne, ono ne Ah, so desu-ka!_ Just a little ditty I learned when I was a small child in Japan. ---
**Author:** ![ShetlandPony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@ShetlandPony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShetlandPony)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/18 "2003-07-30T00:45:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Somnambulist \* > \*\* > > The Japanese ace it for the coolest telephone greeting - even after two year’s in Tokyo for some reason answering the phone and saying “mushi, mushi” still made me smile! \*\* This is funnier for German speakers for reasons I won’t go in to here =;^) ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/19 "2003-07-30T08:21:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShetlandPony \* > \*\*This is funnier for German speakers for reasons I won’t go in to here =;^) \*\* Yep, it’s kind of like an English person answering the phone with “Fanny, fanny”, or an American answering with “Pussy, pussy”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495/20 "2003-07-30T08:27:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ShetlandPony \* > \*\*This is funnier for German speakers for reasons I won’t go in to here =;^) \*\* Yep, it’s kind of like an English person answering the phone with “Fanny, fanny”, or an American answering with “Pussy, pussy”. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/telephone-greeting-in-germany/191495.md?page=2)