German Word of the Day
telefonieren
te-le-fo-NIE-ren • verb — 1st of Jun, 2026
Listen to pronunciation
Meaning: to talk on the phone; to telephone (make a phone call)
Examples
- Ich muss noch kurz telefonieren.
(I still need to make a quick phone call.) - Kannst du später mit mir telefonieren?
(Can you talk to me on the phone later?) - Er telefoniert gerade mit seiner Schwester.
(He is on the phone with his sister right now.)
Synonyms
Click a synonym to see how it compares to telefonieren.
Conjugation
| Person | Präsens | Präteritum |
|---|---|---|
| ich | telefoniere | telefonierte |
| du | telefonierst | telefoniertest |
| er/sie/es | telefoniert | telefonierte |
| wir | telefonieren | telefonierten |
| ihr | telefoniert | telefoniertet |
| sie/Sie | telefonieren | telefonierten |
See all 6 tenses of telefonieren →
Use 'telefonieren' when referring to talking by phone (often with mit + dative: 'mit jemandem telefonieren'). It is usually intransitive. If you want to say 'call someone' (transitive), use 'anrufen' (e.g. 'Ich rufe dich an.' — not 'Ich telefoniere dich').
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