Explanation: Germans used to (apparently only in my bubble) call cellphones “Handy” and many people still do that. My friends from america found that quite hilarious.
Explanation: Germans used to (apparently only in my bubble) call cellphones “Handy” and many people still do that. My friends from america found that quite hilarious.
Most people in my bubble stopped saying that. They usually just say “smartphone” now.
With my peers it’s mostly just “phone” nowadays. Likely because landline phones are really rare now.
But fax is still relevant
You mean, your German peers literally use the English word ‘phone’ or do they say ‘Telefon’?
They say “Telefon”.
I also do that but I think „Handy“ is still the most common term. When there is any need for clarification for what you mean by „phone“, „handy“ will clear it up for everyone.
I feel that mostly older folks still use the term? Maybe it’s just my friends and I. Ever since I realized what it means in english-speaking countries, I stopped saying it.
Maybe, I’m wrong. But again, I rarely hear the term “Handy” any more.
Why? Why would it matter what a word means if interpreted via another language? I mean, you go ahead and do what you want, I don’t care, but I’d like to understand the reasoning behind that.
Because I use english during most of the day. Many of my friends are from abroad and only speak english. I consume a lot of content in english, etc.
And in German, I’d even prefer Mobiltelefon over Handy. Ever since I know that “Handy” could be interpreted as “Handjob” in the US, it feels really stupid to use this word. To me, the word now feels like a “boomer invention” and even though it’s in the Duden, I don’t consider it to be correct any more. At least for my own language. There are several words in the German and English languages that fit better.
I don’t understand why it’d be hard to understand that.
It’s not “hard to understand”, I was just interested in your reasons because I thought it was curious. I still don’t agree that it’s a big deal - I also consume mostly English-language media and most of my communication online is in English but I’m still typing this on my Handybildschirm. But you do you.
Sent from my Handy.
OK Boomer.
(nur Spaß)
would you use the german equivalent of the work handy or the actual english word handy? and if so whats that word, could you use it in a sentence lol
“Ich habe mein Handy verloren.” “I lost my cellphone.”