Answering the phone the German way
A real situation from the OGIMA community · Everyday Life
The scene
The phone rings at home, you pick up, and you realize you're supposed to say your surname — not just 'Hallo.'
Why this moment is tricky in Germany
Germans answer the phone by stating their surname: 'Schmidt' or 'Hallo, hier ist Schmidt' — never just 'Hello' or 'Hi.' This catches every non-German speaker off guard the first time. The convention exists because caller ID was not standard until the 2000s and the habit stuck. On mobile phones, younger Germans increasingly answer with just 'Hallo?' or 'Ja?' — but for landlines, doctor's offices, and any formal context, the surname greeting is still expected. If someone calls and you don't identify yourself, they may ask 'Mit wem spreche ich?' (who am I speaking with?) — which can feel confrontational but is just standard German phone protocol. Ending a call also has its own formula: 'Tschüss' for informal, 'Auf Wiederhören' (literally 'until we hear each other again') for formal — never 'Auf Wiedersehen' on the phone, that's for in-person goodbyes only.
Rehearse it before it happens
This situation is practised out loud in OGIMA: you speak, an AI conversation partner answers back, and you rerun it until the real thing feels routine.
Prefer to read first? Our guide covers this territory: Doctor's Appointment German: What to Say at the Arztpraxis