telefonieren vs anrufen
German word comparison
Listen to telefonieren
Listen to anrufen
| telefonieren | anrufen |
|---|---|
te-le-fo-NIE-ren verb | ahn-ROO-fen verb |
| to talk on the phone; to telephone | to call (someone) on the phone; to phone someone |
How they differ
'Anrufen' emphasizes placing or initiating a call and is transitive (you call someone). 'Telefonieren' emphasizes the act of talking on the phone (often intransitive) and implies a conversation took place.
When to use each
When to use telefonieren: Prefer 'telefonieren' when you want to stress that a phone conversation took place or to speak about talking on the phone in general.
When to use anrufen: Prefer 'anrufen' when you want to say you called or are calling someone, or to report the action of initiating a phone call.
Side-by-side examples
- Ich telefoniere gerade mit meiner Mutter.
(I'm talking on the phone with my mother right now.) - Ich rufe meine Mutter gerade an.
(I'm calling my mother right now.)
Register & nuance: 'Anrufen' is neutral and very common in everyday spoken and written German; compared to 'telefonieren' it is slightly more action-focused but not more formal.
- See the full Word of the Day entry for telefonieren
- See the Word of the Day entry for anrufen
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