Am Telefon
Phone calls are harder than face-to-face conversation - no gestures, no lip-reading, just listening. German phone etiquette also has fixed opening/closing phrases that don't map directly onto English ones. Today gives you the scaffolding so a call doesn't fall apart in the first five seconds.
(answering) Schmidt. / Hier ist Schmidt. (literally just the surname - standard German phone-answering style)
Guten Tag, hier ist [Ihr Name]. (Hello, this is [your name]. - when you're calling)
Ich möchte einen Termin vereinbaren. (I'd like to arrange an appointment. - reusing möchten, Lesson 11)
Answering with just your surname (no "hello") is standard German phone culture, not rudeness - it's worth knowing so it doesn't feel jarring.
Auf Wiederhören! (Goodbye - phone-specific, not "Wiedersehen" which is for seeing someone)
Vielen Dank, auf Wiederhören.
Auf Wiederhören ("until we hear each other again") vs. Auf Wiedersehen ("until we see each other again") from Lesson 1 - German distinguishes the two, unlike English "goodbye" for both.
Können Sie das bitte wiederholen? (Can you repeat that, please?)
Können Sie bitte langsamer sprechen? (Can you speak more slowly, please?)
Ich habe das nicht verstanden. (I didn't understand that.)
These three sentences alone will save almost any phone call that starts going too fast - memorize them before you need them, not during a real call.
1. What do you say to close a phone call (not "Wiedersehen")?
2. "Can you speak more slowly?" - Können Sie bitte ______ sprechen?
3. "I didn't understand that." - Ich habe das nicht ______.
4. "Can you repeat that?" - Können Sie das bitte ______?
5. How do Germans typically answer the phone?
Phrasing cross-checked against the Sprechen section of the official Goethe-Institut A1 practice materials, which includes a telephone-call task.
Want to rehearse a full phone call - like booking your own Anmeldung or doctor's appointment? Ask your teaching agent to role-play it with you.