# How do you answer the telephone in your country?



## Laztana

Hi,

I spent some time in Germany and I realised that the most common way of answering the telephone was to say your name. I used to considered it quite peculiar because it is different to the spanish way. How do you answer the telephone in your country?

For example, at home I would say "¿Sí? (¿Yes?)" but at the working place I would say  "Hola, buenos días/tardes (Hello, good morning/afternoon)"

In connection with this, I have observed that in many american films people hung up without saying goodbye or see you later or any kind of greeting, is that very common? in Spain I would consider it very rude.

Thanks in advance


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## LaReinita

In AE, now of course I can't speak for everyone, but everyone I know says "Hello."

In a business, they will answer the phone . "Good morning/afternoon. Thank you for calling XXX, How can I direct your call/How can I help you?

In reference to:   In connection with this, I have observed that in many american films people hung up without saying goodbye or see you later or any kind of greeting, is that very common?

Many times, people will say "all right" or "later" and that is how they end the conversation, but mind you, this is very informal.


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## rpaztraductor

Hola,en Chile decimos:
 ¿Aló? o ¿Sí?, en cuanto a lo de la oficina se dice igual, raro lo de Alemania nunca lo había escuchado. 
A todo esto no entiendo muy bien porque en las películas dos personas (de USA por ejemplo), se dicen "Hola" como si recién se hubieran encontrado y eso aunque hubieran intercambiado un diálogo previo. Cuándo se conversa con alguien sin conocerse, es necesario decir "Hola" al momento de presentarse el uno al otro¿??
 uff WHAT A QUESTION


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## jonquiliser

How people just hang up in films has always seemed very weird to me, and I don't think people actually do like that. But who knows. 

I think the most common way to answer the phone in Finland used to be with the surname, or if answering someone else's phone, say that you're at that person's/those people's place. When mobiles become common, that changed, and now a simple "hello" or "yes" (not in English, obviously) seems to be the standard way of answering. In the beginning, I found it really awkward, not least because when people answer with their names, you know whether or not you've reached the right person - which can be very useful


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## sdgraham

Here in the U.S., "caller ID" is common and the number and/or name of the person calling is usually displayed on the telephone - especially mobile phones.

This can alter the manner in which one answers the telephone. If I see it's my wife calling, I answer with a "Hi, Honey," or something.

Naturally, this can be a bit embarrassing if someone else is actually calling from her telephone.


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## Arathéa

In France, I think that most of the people answer the phone saying "Allo"... Not in the professionnal places of course, when you often say your name...


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## DearPrudence

In French we have a speacial word that is only used on the phone (A = receiver):
*"Allô"* (works also with mobiles. There's even a suprashort series revolving around mobile phones called "Allô, t'es où ?" (Hello, where are you?), supposedly one of the most used phrases when calling someone on his mobile phone)

I must admit it's not really convenient sometimes because the caller (B) has to ask if he's reached the right person. So he can try giving:
- the name of the person (*C'est Paul ? (Is it Paul?)*)
- the name of their children (problem is if you don't know/remember their names or if you call mix up Mrs Martin with her young son )
- or you might get around with a :
*B - "Je suis bien chez les Martin ?" (am I at the Martins'?)
A - "Oui, c'est Paul. C'est qui ?" (Yes, it's Paul. Who is it?)
B - "Ah, salut, c'est John" (Ah, hi, it's John)*

Yeah, you have to be patient  With mobiles, it can go faster I admit as sometimes I have been greeted by:
"Salut DP"  Scary but normal as you can see the name of the caller on the screen 

For businesses, etc. it would be something like:
*"(name of the company), bonjour (que puis-je faire pour vous ?)
"_____, good morning/afternoon (how can I help you ?)"*

Personally I said:
*"Cabinet médical, bonjour"*  (that was a surgery)

Once, a fax tried to call me three times in a row, so the fourth time, as I was tired of saying the whole thing I simply said "allô" & the lady sounded offended 

I've also been struck by the way people hang up without saying anything in American series.
With family & friends, we like ending with *"(gros) bisous" *_((big) kisses)_


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## kolya97

In Colombia you will hear: aló, ¿a ver?, a la orden.

In Italy: pronto !


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## Laztana

jonquiliser said:


> When mobiles become common, that changed, and now a simple "hello" or "yes" (not in English, obviously) seems to be the standard way of answering. In the beginning, I found it really awkward, not least because when people answer with their names, you know whether or not you've reached the right person - which can be very useful



Hi jonquiliser,

funnily, what I used to find awkward in Germany was that people answered saying their names . You know who you are calling but you don't know necessarily who´s calling you. Here the person who says the name is the one making the phonecall.

Saludos


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## jonquiliser

Laztana said:


> funnily, what I used to find awkward in Germany was that people answered saying their names . You know who you are calling but you don't know necessarily who´s calling you. Here the person who says the name is the one making the phonecall.



Hehe, yeah, I suppose it's just one of those things you're used to and then when you're circles are disturbed you find it awkward . Anyway, I'd say it's useful that both the one who phones up and the one who answers say their names - I mean, I might have dialled the wrong number (unless I've got it on my mobile, of course), or someone else in the family answers, not the one I wanted to talk to, or whatever... Simply saying one's name solves everything  But at the end of the day, you get used to things, and now always answer with a dry "hi"


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## ireney

In Greece (minus when one is at at work of course which is more or less the same with the shall we say "international" way of answering) most people will say *Παρακαλώ;* (ParakalO). It means "Please?" as in "who is calling please?". Some may say *Ορίστε* (orIste) that, in this case, means something like "at your service", "how can I help you" but less "servile" (not a good word but I can't think of any better with half my brain evaporated).

It is rather rude to say *Ναι;* (Ne) which means "Yes?" but you may hear that too.

Saying "goodbye" (or any "leave taking" expression) is considered essential (if you don't it's like hanging up on the other person)


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## federicoft

In Italian most people answer the phone saying "Pronto!", which means "I'm ready".


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## Lopes

In the Netherlands we say "Met (Name)", which is short for "je/u spreekt met (name)", which means "you're speaking with.." Offcourse when you see on your screen who it is, you might answer differently


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## anthodocheio

ireney said:


> In Greece (minus when one is at at work of course which is more or less the same with the shall we say "international" way of answering) most people will say *Παρακαλώ;* (ParakalO). It means "Please?" as in "who is calling please?". Some may say *Ορίστε* (orIste) that, in this case, means something like "at your service", "how can I help you" but less "servile" (not a good word but I can't think of any better with half my brain evaporated).
> 
> It is rather rude to say *Ναι;* (Ne) which means "Yes?" but you may hear that too.
> 
> Saying "goodbye" (or any "leave taking" expression) is considered essential (if you don't it's like hanging up on the other person)


 
I think it's quite common the *Ναι*/yes. At least is what I say... I hope that people don't consider it rude..

I remember once we were saying *Εμπρός*! (embros) like "go on!" followed by the question "*who is this?*". Not sure if people still answer this way..

The other way to answer is when you can see who's calling. In this case, and when among friends or relatives we say *Έλα* (ela) which means "come"/"come here" + the name of the other person... regularly..

And... leaving the converation I say, and I thing is common to say "*Τα λέμε*" (Ta leme), like "See you" but actually "We'll talk again".


Well,
See you guys!!


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## tvdxer

Laztana said:


> Hi,
> 
> I spent some time in Germany and I realised that the most common way of answering the telephone was to say your name. I used to considered it quite peculiar because it is different to the spanish way. How do you answer the telephone in your country?
> 
> For example, at home I would say "¿Sí? (¿Yes?)" but at the working place I would say  "Hola, buenos días/tardes (Hello, good morning/afternoon)"
> 
> In connection with this, I have observed that in many american films people hung up without saying goodbye or see you later or any kind of greeting, is that very common? in Spain I would consider it very rude.
> 
> Thanks in advance



It depends:

If somebody I talk to regularly (such as a family member) or was talking to a short time ago calls my cell phone: "Yeah?" or a sweet "Hello", depending on how I'm feeling

If somebody calls my house: "Hello?"

If somebody calls my workplace: "Good afternoon, (business name)"

As for your last question: Many people do this.  I personally consider it curt, ill-mannered and rude.


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## C_Nor

Laztana said:


> In connection with this, I have observed that in many american films people hung up without saying goodbye or see you later or any kind of greeting, is that very common? in Spain I would consider it very rude.


 
Many people in the U.S. also consider it rude when hanging up without saying goodbye. One may do that because perhaps they are upset with the person on the other end; the person with whom they are speaking. That does not mean that that is accepted.


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## Laztana

Hi again ,

correct me if I'm wrong but so far things seem to be like this:

Northern european countries: people mostly answer saying their names.

Southern european countries and maybe South America: people answer with anything except their names.

For all these previous countries saying goodbye is important.

United States: people mostly answer saying Hello or similar, but the "goodbye" part might be optional, or at least depending on the region.

what do you think?


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## Macunaíma

In Brazil it's become widespread to answer the telephone by simply saying "Oi!" (Hi!). It's never offensive (why should it be?) and I find it really cool. One of the largest mobile phone providers in the country adopted Oi as their trade name and they use cute, cuddly toddlers in their ads on TV answering their mobiles (yes, toddlers with mobiles...) by saying "Oi!". It's not something only teenagers say, and you can even say "Oi" in a neutral tone, not necessarily friendly, as it were.


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## LaReinita

United States: people mostly answer saying Hello or similar, but the "goodbye" part might be optional, or at least depending on the region.

what do you think?[/quote]


No, we say "bye" just some people use slang, to them "all right" or "later" is considered a way to say bye, and so they are not just hanging up on each other. We are civilized people. Can I please suggest that you should not believe everything you see in the movies. That's like us watching those telenovelas and thinking that this is how all spanish people act.  It's just television.


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## Hotu Matua

In Mexico we are peculiar in answering "¿Bueno?" instead of the "¿Aló?"  which is widespread in the rest of Latin America.
"¿Bueno?" means something like "¿And then?" or "Well...!"

Hanging without a Good bye is also considered unpolite in this country. However, it is funny to notice that on even in Mexican films and TV soap operas, actors on stage sometimes just hang like that... weird!


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## viera

After decades of "Hello" and the French "Allô" (pretty boring), for a little variety I occasionally answer the phone with the Italian "Pronto!" - I like its energetic sound.  I also enjoy the Slovak "Prosim" whose meaning is close to 's'il-vous-plaît' or 'at your service'.  At the office I had caller ID and enjoyed responding in the caller's language.


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## steffiegomez

Hotu Matua said:


> In Mexico we are peculiar in answering "¿Bueno?" instead of the "¿Aló?"  which is widespread in the rest of Latin America.
> "¿Bueno?" means something like "¿And then?" or "Well...!"
> 
> Hanging without a Good bye is also considered unpolite in this country. However, it is funny to notice that on even in Mexican films and TV soap operas, actors on stage sometimes just hang like that... weird!



Hello,
This kept me thinking why do we say "¿bueno?" in México?
Strange...


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## curly

Here, we, or at least my family, say "hey, how are you?", very quickly so that it sounds like "hey howye" even during formal exchanges. I translate this almost exactly in French to "salut, ça va?" which I think is quite musical.


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## HUMBERT0

Yes in Mexico we usually say ¿Bueno? or Bueno ¿quién habla?  (Well, who’s speaking?)
 I’ve heard that its sounds funny to a Spaniard…


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## zxc

Laztana said:


> Hi again ,
> 
> correct me if I'm wrong but so far things seem to be like this:
> 
> Northern european countries: people mostly answer saying their names.
> 
> Southern european countries and maybe South America: people answer with anything except their names.
> 
> For all these previous countries saying goodbye is important.
> 
> United States: people mostly answer saying Hello or similar, but the "goodbye" part might be optional, or at least depending on the region.
> 
> what do you think?


In the UK, as in the US, the normal way to answer your home phone or mobile is just with "Hello?".

I remember when I was a kid, my dad used to answer by saying the six digit home telephone number, which I think was quite a common thing to do here many years ago, but I would find it strange if I heard anyone doing it these days.

As for hanging up without saying bye/see you later, etc, that would seem quite rude here.

A casual conversation between friends might typically finish something like:

Person 1: Well, see you later then, okay?
Person 2: Okay, see you later
Person 1: Bye
Person 2: Bye

I noticed with a Spanish friend that saying "¡Venga!" is quite a normal way for a phone conversation between friends to end in Spain, what do you think?

Also, apart from "¿Sí?", I've heard a few Spanish people answer by saying "¿Quién?". In English, it would seem very rude (or just weird) to answer with "Who is it?", and even "Yes?" would not seem very polite. But I guess these are just language differences.


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## ERASMO_GALENO

Hi,

In Perú,* "¿Aló?"* is widely used. If you want to be more formal, answering the phone at work, for example, you add "*buen@s días/tardes/noches*" (good morning/afternoon/evening). Some companies' operators answer with the company name and then "*buen@s días/tardes*".

Regards,


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## KaRiNe_Fr

I usually answer: « <my name>, bonjour/bonsoir » at home and « <my name and surname>, bonjour/bonsoir » at the office. Sober. 
I think it's always a good idea to inform the caller who answers to invite him to introduce him/herself.

(Mind you, if I know the caller, I can say things like « Oh ! X, qu'est-ce qui t'amène ? »)


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## pomar

You have already mentioned the usual Italian "Pronto". There some people who just say "Sì?", but I don't like it.
I think in Italy it is often considered impolite when the caller asks "Chi parla?" (Who's speaking?) without saying his name before.


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## Sepia

HUMBERT0 said:


> Yes in Mexico we usually say ¿Bueno? or Bueno ¿quién habla?  (Well, who’s speaking?)
> I’ve heard that its sounds funny to a Spaniard…



(I know "bueno" from the Mexican soaps)

Could it originally have been a question referring to the quality of the telephone line connection. Like when the CB-radio-freaks ask "do you copy ...?" (or more formal: "Do you read me?")


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## Etcetera

In Russia, most people say "Allo" (sounds quite like the German "Hallo"). Some say "Да" ("Yes"), a few prefer to use "Слушаю" ("Listening"). Giving names isn't common (in fact, I've never heard anyone to give their name when answering a call on mobile or home phone). 
As for ending the conversation, we usually say something like "Goodbye" or "See you later" - it's considered quite impolite to break off without saying anything.


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## panjabigator

In Catalan, I believe they say "digui."
In Hindi and Panjabi, "hello."


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## betulina

panjabigator said:


> In Catalan, I believe they say "digui."



It's not the most common, Panja. People usually say "Sí?" ("Yes?"). "Digui" (from the verb "to say", imperative) is quite formal and I relate it to aged people. 
I think the Spanish equivalent "diga" is much more used than the Catalan "digui".


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## Kajjo

Laztana said:


> I spent some time in Germany and I realised that the most common way of answering the telephone was to say your name. I used to considered it quite peculiar because it is different to the spanish way. How do you answer the telephone in your country?


You are right, saying your name is standard in Germany. I wonder why other countries don't do it -- because it is not always clear who is on the line, neither in families nor in companies. 

Kajjo


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## Laztana

zxc said:


> I noticed with a Spanish friend that saying "¡Venga!" is quite a normal way for a phone conversation between friends to end in Spain, what do you think?



Hi, 
that is true, I end up most of my conversations with "venga" or "vale, venga", but only with friends or family. It is a very informal (but not rude) way of saying goodbye.


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## Laztana

LaReinita said:


> No, we say "bye" just some people use slang, to them "all right" or "later" is considered a way to say bye, and so they are not just hanging up on each other. We are civilized people. Can I please suggest that you should not believe everything you see in the movies. That's like us watching those telenovelas and thinking that this is how all spanish people act.  It's just television.



Please, don't get me wrong Reinita , I'm quite aware that the stereotypes shown in television don't match reality in most of the cases, (as you can imagine, I could talk for hours about false spanish stereotypes). Nevertheless, I often wonder about this "bye", "all right" or "later" issue because I have only seen it in american movies or TV shows. If I mentioned  this "hanging up" matter again in my second post, it was because some people said that it actually happens in some places, although it is considered rude. I didn't mean to say that you are not civilized people by any means ! I was just curious about it. Sorry If I offended you.


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## Etcetera

Kajjo said:


> You are right, saying your name is standard in Germany. I wonder why other countries don't do it -- because it is not always clear who is on the line, neither in families nor in companies.


It is true. I was mistaken for my Mum many times - our voices sound quite the same. 
But it's really uncommon to say your name, for whatever reason. So the typical beginning of a conversation is "Good evening, may I speak to..."


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## Calamitintin

In China they say "weyi", quite quickly, sounds like our French "oui" or "ouaiy", and they were very surprised when I answered with "oui" . In Cantonese, it's more sth like "wayiiii" .
++
Cal


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## Jeedade

federicoft said:


> In Italian most people answer the phone saying "Pronto!", which means "I'm ready".


I’ve always wondered why Italian women do not answer the phone with “Pronta!” ...
Sometimes, to make the caller aware a group of people is waiting / listening, Italians answer with “Pronti!”, mostly in a joking manner.


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## pomar

I suppose that "pronto" is not referred to the person, but it's like "it is ready, all is ready". And I think that the joking "pronti" doesn't depend on the fact that there are one or more persons, it has no real meaning, just a joke.


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## LaReinita

Laztana said:


> Please, don't get me wrong Reinita , I'm quite aware that the stereotypes shown in television don't match reality in most of the cases, (as you can imagine, I could talk for hours about false spanish stereotypes). Nevertheless, I often wonder about this "bye", "all right" or "later" issue because I have only seen it in american movies or TV shows. If I mentioned this "hanging up" matter again in my second post, it was because some people said that it actually happens in some places, although it is considered rude. I didn't mean to say that you are not civilized people by any means ! I was just curious about it. Sorry If I offended you.


 
No, I'm not offended. It just seems like no matter what the topic is, there is always something negative said about the US, in particular. People here do not just hang up on each other unless they are fighting or something. Our conversations usually always end something like:

Person 1: Well, see you later then, okay?
Person 2: Okay, see you later
Person 1: Bye
Person 2: Bye

As zxc stated above. And it is rude to hang up, but if the people are fighting, I would imagine it would be that persons intention to be rude. But in these days with cell phones and dropped calls mad:-I know from personal experience) . . No one would even know if you hung up on them or if the stinkin signal just faded.


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## chicagriega

In Greece we use to say embros. Literally it means forward but in ''phone languege'' it is equivalant with yes. We also say parakalo (please). When we end a conversation we usually say geia (goodbye) or ta leme (we will speak again).
                Hope to find my informations useful and interesting.


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## Twenty-Seventh Letter

I concur with the others here, in the US we nearly always answer with "hello?"  Personally, if I know the person who is calling and have a casual relationship with them, then I'll often answer with "hey, what's up?"  

As far as the hanging-up debate, I would agree that Americans do not have any habit of ending a phone call without saying "good-bye" or something similar.  In informal situations a simple "bye", "later", or "see ya" is perfectly acceptable and not considered rude.

This discussion also allows me to ask a question which I've wondered for some time.  Where did the French get _allo_ from?  German?  And was this greeting in use before the telephone?


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## Malevo

"hola, soy Troy Mc Lure"!..  jaja no...  yo solo digo "hola". (un poco de humor no esta de mas, o si? )


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## Alexis Advance

¿Aló?......


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## Etcetera

Twenty-Seventh Letter said:


> This discussion also allows me to ask a question which I've wondered for some time.  Where did the French get _allo_ from?  German?  And was this greeting in use before the telephone?


Not only the French, but also the Russians use "Allo" - and this word is used only in phone conversations.


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## gman.xtreme

In the Dominican Republic, normally we say "buenos dias/tardes/noches" = "good morning/afternoon/evening", whenever we're picking up the phone.

Whenever we're hanging up, we'll say something like: "adios", "hablamos ahorita", "cuidate" = "goodbye", "talk to you later", "take care".

But there is a common practice here that annoys the begeeses out of me, whenever you call a house and ask for someone, they ask: "de parte?"
this is the equivalent of asking: "who's calling?", and after you state your name they tell you: "oh, he/she is not here". Why on earth would you ask for who's calling in advance, only to say that the person you're trying to reach is not there.

jejeje


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## Sandragoras

About the mexican answer "Bueno", somebody explained me once that that is because a long, loooong ago, the operators in the phone company used that word in order to indicate that the conection was good. So, that "bueno" does not mean "well", actually means "good".


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## Lugubert

In my Swedish youth, the phone book recommended answering using you telephone number, which depending on the district in most cases would be three to six digits, or your name. Nowadays, not only young people answer with their given names only. I haven't heard a number for answer for ages. Personally, I always use my family name only. Some give their given plus family name, which is useful if there are for example several persons of the same gender in the family. People of foreign origin sometimes prefer _Hallå_, which I regard rather rude, unless their display has revealed your identity and they immediately address you.

When they've answered, my first sentence will introduce myself, if the caller hasn't identified me in their answering, or if I'm obviously connected to a switchboard.

Hospitals, shops etc. _always_ answer with their company (etc.) name.

For finishing, I can't imagine somebody just hanging up. Even if I'm quite mad at the caller (happens almost once every year), I'll go, like, "I'm hanging up. Bye." before actually quitting. The finish can be quite drawn out on a dear friend, with a number of equivalents of "Have a nice day", "Take care", "We'll be in contact", and will not be less than, with a degree of formality depending of course on the other party, "OK. Hi.", "Well, then, bye", "Thanks. Goodbye."


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## sicoticosandro

Aló.............................................


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## vilmarys

In Puerto Rico we answer "Hello".


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## pomar

Maybe there's a difference North-South about privacy. 
Here in Italy, as fare as I know, the one who answers at the phone (if it's not a business phone) is not supposed to tell his/her name, on the contrary he/she expects the caller to give his/her name. Meaning, you have called, I'm not going to tell my name, in my home, to someone I don't know: it's up to you, caller, to tell who you are, then I will see.


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## anthodocheio

pomar said:


> Maybe there's a difference North-South about privacy.
> Here in Italy, as fare as I know, the one who answers at the phone (if it's not a business phone) is not supposed to tell his/her name, on the contrary he/she expects the caller to give his/her name. Meaning, you have called, I'm not going to tell my name, in my home, to someone I don't know: it's up to you, caller, to tell who you are, then I will see.


 
I agree 100%!!!


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## zxc

pomar said:


> Maybe there's a difference North-South about privacy.
> Here in Italy, as fare as I know, the one who answers at the phone (if it's not a business phone) is not supposed to tell his/her name, on the contrary he/she expects the caller to give his/her name. Meaning, you have called, I'm not going to tell my name, in my home, to someone I don't know: it's up to you, caller, to tell who you are, then I will see.


I don't think it's a Northern vs Southern European thing because in the UK people don't answer their home telephones by saying their name either, and I'd say it's because of the same reason: privacy. There's no way I'd give my name to anyone on the phone unless I knew exactly who it was, so I'd definitely never pick up the phone and say "Joe Bloggs speaking"...


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## Laztana

zxc said:


> ... so I'd definitely never pick up the phone and say "Joe Bloggs speaking"...



However, I know of people from the UK answering like that their home phone, could that be a matter of age? the people I'm talking about are over 60.


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## EugeniaMaria

I’m living in the US, and I can’t take out of my mind BUENO (I´m from Mexico City) when I answer the phone, sometimes the people in the line just hanging up, but some others they just ask for someone else. For me is very difficult to switch, and say Hello, I feel silly jiji.


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## deine

In Lithuania most people say "Alio" or "Klausau" (Listening). Maybe somebody say "Taip" (Yes) but it is not common...
I've never heard anyone to give their name when answering a call on mobile or home phone. 
When you are calling to some company they answer "(name of the company), klausau"
For ending the conversation, we usually say something like "Goodbye" or "Call you later"
It's considered impolite to break off without saying anything.

Lithuanian "Klausau" in Spanish means "Oiga" but I heard that Spanish sometimes answer "Diga" and who is calling then say "Oiga.(and say that they want to ask)". Is it truth?


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## Laztana

deine said:


> Lithuanian "Klausau" in Spanish means "Oiga" but I heard that Spanish sometimes answer "Diga" and who is calling then say "Oiga.(and say that they want to ask)". Is it truth?



Hi,

"diga" or "dígame" used to be quite common when I was a child but you don't hear it anymore. "oiga" I don't think it's so common, however, after introducing myself I may start my conversation with "oye", that is, the informal way of "oiga".


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## Spectre scolaire

Arathéa said:
			
		

> In France, I think that most of the people answer the phone saying "Allo"...


 Il est vrai que l’usage _principal_ du mot *allô* est précisément ce qu’indique Le Petit Robert --



> Interjection conventionelle servant d’appel dans les communications téléphoniques.


 -- mais en français on trouve également le mot *ouais*! La preuve en est qu’à Shanghai, lorsque la première centrale téléphonique fut installée en Chine - par des Français! – les ingénieurs avaient fait venir de la métropole un certain nombre de femmes qui ont dû y prêter service dans une période de transition avant de pouvoir rendre la centrale aux Chinois. Ces derniers ont vite appris de s’en servir et de répondre aux appels _conformément à ce qu’ils avaient entendu_ – à savoir *ouais*. Ce mot est entré en Chinois comme 喂 *w**èi* (avec tonème 4). On l’entend à longueur de journée lorsque les Chinois répondent aux appels de leurs téléphones mobiles.

En France *allô*, en tant qu’_interjection conventionelle_, a complètement substitué *ouais*. Le plus grand dictionnaire du français, Le Trésor de la langue française (_sub voce_ ouais) ne mentionne pas cette acception - même pas comme un mot désuet!

A propos de –-


			
				DearPrudence said:
			
		

> *"Allô"* (works also with mobiles. There's even a suprashort series revolving around mobile phones called "Allô, t'es où ?" (Hello, where are you?), supposedly one of the most used phrases when calling someone on his mobile phone)


 –-un livre vient d’être édité dont le titre est “ T'es où ? : Ontologie du téléphone mobile ” (auteur Maurizio Ferraris, préface d’Umberto Eco).
 喂 ​


----------



## stanley

In Germany pretty much everybody says his last name / surname  but my family doesn't because we always want to know the caller's name first. 
I always say:" hallo "


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## Laztana

stanley said:


> In Germany pretty much everybody says his last name / surname  but my family doesn't because we always want to know the caller's name first.
> I always say:" hallo "



And how does the person at the other end of the line react? When I answer "hallo" in Germany, the response I usually get is silence followed by "who are you?" with a surprise tone in the voice , is it the same for you?
Because of this kind of reaction, I reached the conclusion that it is considered rude to answer "hallo" in Germany.


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## argentina84

In Argentina we say "Hello". And if we are not recognized, we say our names.


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## swift_precision

Caller ID is a wonderful invention. If the phone rings, and I see who is calling, I am not obligated to pick up the phone and that can be for a variety of reasons. Maybe I'm busy at the time, or maybe it's a telemarketer trying to get me to sign up for a stupid credit card. However, when I do pick up the phone, the way I answer depends on whether or not I know the person. If it's a friend I might say, "eeeeeeeeeeste cabron!!!" or "Big D what's crackin man? or variety of other things. Of course when I don't recognize the number and I feel like picking up the phone I will say "hello".


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## La Bruja Libanesa

In Lebanon, where we often mix in one sentence Arabic, French and English we say when answering a phone Call : Allo


----------



## audia

pomar said:


> Maybe there's a difference North-South about privacy.
> Here in Italy, as fare as I know, the one who answers at the phone (if it's not a business phone) is not supposed to tell his/her name, on the contrary he/she expects the caller to give his/her name. Meaning, you have called, I'm not going to tell my name, in my home, to someone I don't know: it's up to you, caller, to tell who you are, then I will see.


 
I also agree totally. After teaching English in Germany for many years( where they answer with their family name) , It is always difficult to teach them that not saying is not rude but rather as above, a question of privacy.
I find this very ironic since Germans are extremely careful( Datenschutz) about protecting their personal information otherwise.
 Are there any Germans out there who can explain this incongruency??


----------



## concafeina

In my house when i answer the telephone I said "¿Si?" (Yes?), but in my work I said the name of my work and "good moorning". In my house my mother say that the answer Si? it's very rude because Good moorning shows more education, i think this too but i remember a period of time that I answer with Quien eres? (Who are you?) but my mother become angry and the mother is the mother xD

Best regards!


----------



## smekera

In Romania we say *"ALO"* (which means Hello) or *"DA"* (which means YES)


----------



## Porteño

When I lived in the UK, it was traditional to answer the phone by giving your number, that way the caller always knew if he had made the right connection. Sometimes you would add: 'John speaking'.

Here in Buenos Aires, most people simply say 'Hola' and if you recognize the voice, all is well. However many business firms have the annoying habit of answering something like 'Estudio' (office) and so you haven't a clue whether you've made the right connection or not and have to get into a long question and answer session to make sure.


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## Qcumber

federicoft said:


> In Italian most people answer the phone saying "Pronto!", which means "I'm ready".


Yes! I noticed that, and someone speaking over a public address system will say it twice to call people's attention: 'Pronto, pronto!"


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## Qcumber

In France I was taught to answer: "_Quentin Cumbert, j'écoute._", but I soon realized nobody does this.  Some even lift the receiver without saying a word  or grunt an irritated "_allô_"  (which is "hello" adapted to the French language in the 19th century).


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## panjabigator

Qcumber said:


> In France I was taught to answer: "_Quentin Cumbert, j'écoute._", but I soon realized nobody does this.  Some even lift the receiver without saying a word  or grunt an irritated "_allô_"  (which is "hello" adapted to the French language in the 19th century).



What does that translate to?


----------



## Qcumber

panjabigator said:


> What does that translate to?


Quentin Cumbert, j'écoute. = Quentin Cumbert, I am listening.


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## tipolynch1

In our house we often ask What up? when answering the phone.  pronounced more like wadup....

Or just yo.


----------



## Mariarayen

rleclon said:


> Hola,en Chile decimos:
> ¿Aló? o ¿Sí?, en cuanto a lo de la oficina se dice igual, raro lo de Alemania nunca lo había escuchado.
> A todo esto no entiendo muy bien porque en las películas dos personas (de USA por ejemplo), se dicen "Hola" como si recién se hubieran encontrado y eso aunque hubieran intercambiado un diálogo previo. Cuándo se conversa con alguien sin conocerse, es necesario decir "Hola" al momento de presentarse el uno al otro¿??
> uff WHAT A QUESTION



Como ya dijeron varios en Argentina decimos "Hola" 
A mi me parece más raro aló, que no es una palabra en español


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## alvarezg

In Cuba (at least many years ago) it was customary to answer "¿Oigo?" (I'm listening?).

When I call someone in Mexico and they answer "Bueno" I involuntarily remain quiet for a moment.  It's like hearing "Well.."; you expect more to follow.


----------



## ovejanegra

Laztana said:


> I have observed that in many American films people hung up without saying goodbye or see you later or any kind of greeting


 
Ah! This is number twenty-eight in Nostalgia Central's list of 40 Things that Only Happen in Movies: 

"28. It is not necessary to say '_Hello_' or '_Goodbye_' when beginning a telephone conversation. A disconnected call can always be restored by frantically beating the cradle and saying 'Hello? Hello?' repeatedly."


----------



## Laztana

ovejanegra said:


> Ah! This is number twenty-eight in Nostalgia Central's list of 40 Things that Only Happen in Movies:
> 
> "28. It is not necessary to say '_Hello_' or '_Goodbye_' when beginning a telephone conversation. A disconnected call can always be restored by frantically beating the cradle and saying 'Hello? Hello?' repeatedly."



Thanks for the link Ovejanegra, I have enjoyed it very much  and you have definitely confirmed what others said before: it only happens in movies.


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## Tao

Here in Holland it can be anything as far as I know. _It all depends on the situation._ I bet that goes for many countries.

If I know who's calling then, depending on the situation, I could answer "*ja?*/yeah?" or "*ja, zeg op*/yeah, spit it out" or "*Ja, praat (tegen me)*/Yeah, talk (to me) or "*Hallo?*/Hello?" or "*Hallo, met...*/Hello, this is..." or "*Hee man*/Hey man" or *"Ja, 'tizz'rop?*/Yeah, what's up (= very much shortened from literal translation of "Yeah, what's up?") and so on.

Of course I'd use the more... "unconventional" ones for people close.

Sometimes when a certain friend calls I would say something totally unconventional on purpose like "*....*" and then suddenly open conversation as soon as he or she starts talking. It's just a "friendly" personal way. Or "*Uh huh*" whereafter I would receive a humorous complaint about the way I answer. Or how about "*....., *cough cough**"? This would certainly excite some funny situations 

But standard normal response in a work situation would be "*Hallo/Goedendag/Goede middag/Goedenavond, met [name]*" or "*Hallo, u spreekt met...*/Hello, this is..."


----------



## panjandrum

I always say "Hello?"
Mrs P, following a somewhat ancient custom around here, says "XXXXX", where XXXXXX is the phone number we used to have before they added the extra five digits.


----------



## nichec

jonquiliser said:


> How people just hang up in films has always seemed very weird to me, and I don't think people actually do like that. But who knows.
> 
> I think the most common way to answer the phone in Finland used to be with the surname, or if answering someone else's phone, say that you're at that person's/those people's place. When mobiles become common, that changed, and now a simple "hello" or "yes" (not in English, obviously) seems to be the standard way of answering. In the beginning, I found it really awkward, not least because when people answer with their names, you know whether or not you've reached the right person - which can be very useful


 
The actresses in the movies never have to take off their makeup before going to bed, you know......... (movies........)

I go: "Hello, this is Silvia speaking" to people I work with.

"Oh hey!" to people close to me.

And I think that's what everyone does in my circle.


----------



## argentina84

Tao said:


> Here in Holland it can be anything as far as I know. _It all depends on the situation._ I bet that goes for many countries."


 
Dank U, Tao! Your clarification about the Dutch ways are very usefull for me!


----------



## Trisia

Most Romanians say "allo". We don't use that word in other contexts (except maybe when halloing in a forest ).

On my mobile phone, I sometimes answer calls using "Allo, bună ziua!" (since we've lost the meaning of the word "allo", there's no redundancy in saying "good day" after it).

If it's a friend, I'd probably say "Hi", or "hey, you".

Sometimes, just to baffle the caller (a well-known chatterbox), I just say "Yes, what is it?". That gets them every time, because Romanians (or the ones I know) are accustomed to saying some greetings, and chatting before they get to business, and this is basically an invitation to skip all gallantries and get to the point. It all depends on the tone, of course. You wouldn't want the other one to feel offended


----------



## gorbatzjov

In Belgium (Dutch) you say:
- INFORMAL: "Hallo met xxx" (lit: Hello with xxx; Hello, you're speaking with xxx). Some people just say "Hallo", say their first and last name or just say their last name only.
- FORMAL: in every well-respected business, especially in Brussels, people answer the phone in Dutch and in French: "XXX, bonjour,goededag" or "XXX, bon après-midi, goede namiddag". In businesses people normally don't say their name on the phone unless you ask them.


----------



## Soy Yo TGatito

Hello
Bueno

That's how many people answer, with either of those, depending whether they're Hispanic or not....

Bye.. is usually how we say well.. Bye no matter the language.


----------



## divisortheory

Trisia said:


> Most Romanians say "allo". We don't use that word in other contexts (except maybe when halloing in a forest ).


 
This is interesting, because I've noticed many other languages that have a special word for answering the phone would use the same word in a situation such as you described with an empty forest.  Another example might be you knock on the door of a house and find out the door was partially open and it pushes open all the way.  So you step into the house and call out the same word that you use to answer the phone.

Do any languages have a special word for answering the phone that you would _not_ use in this context?


----------



## Un Kimono

In Japan we say "Moshi Moshi (meaning Hello only used for telephone which came into use over 100 years ago)" or "Yes, this is A (name)" when answering the pone at home (For business "Yes, this is Company A" ). 

But people are beginning to concern about revealing private information (name) as there are hoax calls - It’s me" frauds (e.g. it’s me, grandma. I am in trouble. Please send me money to a bank account ZZZ soon!”). 
Now, more people only say "Yes?" and wait for the caller to identify himself/herself first. Also many households have phones with “caller ID” (like in the US). And penetration of mobile has apparently changed the way we answer the phone.

When hanging up the phone, we say "Bye" (Good bye, See you, etc.) and both ends would wait for a few seconds as in Japan, hanging up the phone straight away is considered rude (it applies to both private and business situation).


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## Woland

I answer with ''*DA?*''.. I noticed that most of the romanians answer with* DA. *The one who calls usually uses ''allo''


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## Gris

zxc said:


> I remember when I was a kid, my dad used to answer by saying the six digit home telephone number, which I think was quite a common thing to do here many years ago, but I would find it strange if I heard anyone doing it these days.


 
Me too! (I'm from Argentina) In fact, that was the way I answered when I started to do it at 6 or 7, ja ja.

Now I live in Spain, and a collegue at work always answers with the funny _Digamelón_! (Normally, one should said _Diga)_


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## ryba

In Poland we basically use these three:

*Halo* /hálo/ (h like in English _hotel_, I use the tilde (á, ú) over the vowels to show where the tonic accent falls)

_Halo_ is a word we use virtually only to answer the phone.
It sometimes tends to be pronounced /halóo/ with a nice asking tone.

*Słucham* /swúham/ (w like in English _wind_)

It means _J'écoute_ / _I'm listening_.

*Tak? */tak/, sometimes pronounced like /taak/ - the "a" sound gets longer.

It means _Oui?_ / _Yes?

_


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## Vanest

In Ecuador we say, "¿Aló?" (hello) and then wait for the caller to identify him or herself. Some people like to be more formal and say, "Aló, buenos días". (Hello, good morning). In a business situation, one should answer "Nombre de la compañía, buenos días, ¿En qué le puedo ayudar?" (Company's name, good morning, how may I help you?).

I still answer my cell phone by saying "¿Aló?", although the caller ID usually tells me who is calling. I can't get used to saying the person's name or any other type of greeting, in fact. But I do know a lot of other people who will answer the cellphone depending on who is calling. 

A long time ago, one used to answer the phone like this, "Familia Cordero, buenos días" (Cordero Family, good morning). But no one answers like this anymore due to privacy issues, as has already been mentioned in his very interesting thread 

And saying good bye is usually very long:

"Bueno, hasta luego, muchas gracias". (Well, good bye, thank you very much)
"Sí, hasta luego, gracias también". (Yes, good bye, thank you as well)
"Sí, hasta luego". (Yes, good bye)
"Hasta luego". (Good bye)


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## dexter1355

Ha ha, this topic is quite interesting. My friend from China or Hong Kong say "Wei" to answer the telephone. While my Vietnamese friends say *"Allô". I guess they were influenced by the French culture.
*


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## nichec

dexter1355 said:


> Ha ha, this topic is quite interesting. My friend from China or Hong Kong say "Wei" to answer the telephone. While my Vietnamese friends say *"Allô". I guess they were influenced by the French culture.*


 
Or perhaps French (as a language) was influenced by the Chinese culture? 

I mean, Vietnam was once a colony of France, therefore most of the Vietnamese were familiar with French (as a language) once. But I don't know many Chinese people who understand French. Besides, the "wei" is pronounced differently in Chinese and in French, even though the difference is very subtle. And we do use "wei" in many other situations, not just when we answer the phone, but we don't use it to mean "yes", which is the meaning in French (oui).

Hmmmm.........I hope this post won't be deleted........


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## TraductoraPobleSec

In Catalan we say "Digui", "Digueu" or the very boring "Sí".


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## Cristina Allende

In the U.S. we answer the house phone by saying hello.  But people say it differently.  When I say it, it sounds like a question: Hello?  When my grampa says it, he puts the emphasis on the beginning and it is a statement: HEL-lo!  But he lives in a rural area, so the chances are that he knows whoever is calling.  

In movies, a lot of times people hang up without saying goodbye when they are nervous/waiting for something, or if a superior is ordering a subordinate to do something quickly and right then.  I can see people doing that in real life, though I have never, considering I am only a senior in high school and I have no subordinates.

I hope you found this interesting!


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## Cristina Allende

In businesses, secretaries answer the phone by saying something like this:
Good morning/afternoon.  Dr. XXX's office (business name).  How may help you?

And if you have caller ID or are answering a cell-phone, sometimes you would make it more personal if you knew them.  If you read on your caller ID that your dad was calling, you would probably great him like this: "Heeeey!" "Hey, Dad" or "What's up?"


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## Outsider

Macunaíma said:


> In Brazil it's become widespread to answer the telephone by simply saying "Oi!" (Hi!).


Don't you also say _Alô_?

In Portugal, it's usually _Sim?_ ("Yes?"), _Estou?_ ("I am...?", often shortened to _Tou?_), _Está?_ ("Are you [there]...?", or the short version _Tá?_) or _Estou, sim?_ ("Yes, I am [here]...?")

If you phone an institution, they may answer _Xxx. Em que posso ajudá-lo?_ ("Xxx. How may I help you?")


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## Josita

Alô,in Brazil... In Portugal i've heard "Está?" or "Está,sim?"


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## Outsider

Yes, I forgot about _Está, sim?_ 
Basically, all combinations of _Está?_ and _Estou?_ with _Sim?_, or each of the three alone.


----------



## rosetta1

jonquiliser said:


> I think the most common way to answer the phone in Finland used to be with the surname, or if answering someone else's phone, say that you're at that person's/those people's place. When mobiles become common, that changed, and now a simple "hello" or "yes" (not in English, obviously) seems to be the standard way of answering.


 
Well, in my experience most people in Finland still answer with their name (usually just first name), even to mobiles... (Well, landlines are not much used in Finland anymore, apart from offices, anyway.) Whereas here in the UK, the standard answer is just the "Hello", and granted, I did find that strange when first moving here  But nowadays, I just answer "hello" (or to be more exact, the Finnish equivalent, "haloo") even when in Finland (as I'm so used to it that it comes automatically), and (Finnish) people often have found that strange or confusing, for some reason...


----------



## kusurija

In Czech: we say "Haló..." - most frequent; or "Slyším!" (I'm hearing) - it's a litle bit ironic or (a litle bit rare) "Dovolali jste se na číslo xxxxxxx, prosím..." (You had contacted/got call/ a phone number xxxxxxx, please...
Hospitals, shops etc. answers with their company (etc.) name and place(city).


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## Solbrillante

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnngg! Hello, Solbrillante calling, just wanted to say hi, okay, bye!

I think television shows have "the hanging-up without a good-bye" simply for the drama,  it would be considered rude in the US as well.


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## Solbrillante

Just a little footnote, it is also considered proper etiquette here in the US that the person who placed the call is the one who should end it.  This can be a real problem if you have friends who think nothing of calling and wanting to talk for HOURS!!  I actually have a friend who will talk on and on and at some point I will try to indicate that I need to move on and finally she told me "If ever you need to go, just hang up on me like my other friends do."  I cannot bring myself to do this, so in particularly long conversations it might be 30 minutes of hinting that I need to go, before she will say good-bye.  This is where caller-ID comes in handy, if I do not have time available to talk for hours, I call her back and then I can end the call when I need to!


----------



## jonquiliser

Solbrillante said:


> Just a little footnote, it is also considered proper etiquette here in the US that the person who placed the call is the one who should end it.  This can be a real problem if you have friends who think nothing of calling and wanting to talk for HOURS!!  I actually have a friend who will talk on and on and at some point I will try to indicate that I need to move on and finally she told me "If ever you need to go, just hang up on me like my other friends do."  I cannot bring myself to do this, so in particularly long conversations it might be 30 minutes of hinting that I need to go, before she will say good-bye.  This is where caller-ID comes in handy, if I do not have time available to talk for hours, I call her back and then I can end the call when I need to!



The same is considered "prper etiquette" here, but never to such a dogmatic extent! It is perfectly ok to say you can't keep on talking if that's the case, though it is _usually_ the caller who ends the call.


----------



## Yulia Alex

In Russia we say ALLO as they do in France, and this is enough for personal communication. At work it is considered polite  to say @name of organization@, good afternoon.
If you don't say goodbuy defore you hang on it means you are offended or you want to insult the other side.
Sometimes people try to be different: they use to say "I'm listening", "Yes", but they never say "Here is Mary" or anything of that style. 
After saying ALLO we normally say Hello, then How do you do, then where are you? (if it is a mobile phone communication). Sometimes it seems endless all these phrases, but without saying it you look unpolite and you will have to answer for "What has happened to you?"


----------



## alexacohen

In Andalucía (Spain):
We pick up the receiver and say "Sí" or "Hola", when we know who's calling.
If we don't know who's calling, we usually don't pick up the receiver for fear of finding a salesperson at the other end of the line.

Companies don't answer the phone: they have a machine voice which directs you to a web page.


----------



## mirx

alexacohen said:


> In Andalucía (Spain):
> We pick up the receiver and say "Sí" or "Hola", when we know who's calling.
> If we don't know who's calling, we usually don't pick up the receiver for fear of finding a salesperson at the other end of the line.
> 
> Companies don't answer the phone: they have a machine voice which directs you to a web page.


 
Has it gotten that bad there?


----------



## alexacohen

mirx said:


> Has it gotten that bad there?


 
If you mean the machine voice, yes, that bad. 
It is always a female? voice going on like this:

"Welcome to ....... customer service. All our lines are busy at the moment. We remind you that you may contact us at .... dot com. If you want to speak with one of our agents, please hold the line. (music music music). Welcome to ... customer service. All our lines are busy at the moment. We remind you that you may contact us at .... dot com. If you want to speak with one of our agents, please hold the line. (music music music). 
Welcome to...."

Well, it *is* a way to answer the phone in my country.


----------



## MarX

"Halo?" is what we say.


----------



## Kangy

I say "Hola" when I answer the phone, and "Chau" to finish the conversation.
They're basically the same words to say "Hi" and "Bye" in a normal (not telephone) conversation.


----------



## Forero

My grandmother always answered the phone "All right...", but she is the only one I ever heard do that.


----------



## Huinca

In Argentina, people use to say "hola", "diga" o "hable". También suele decirse "sí?". En caso de las empresas, clínicas, etc. se suele decir el nombre y luego el saludo. Por ejemplo: "Hospital Central, buenos días".


----------



## Jacques L. Dupin

In France, the general use was (and is) "Allo" to begin and "Au revoir" to end.

At work, about 30 years ago, we started to say : "business name/bonjour". I'm quite sure that this was introduced by communication advisors. I remember I have been teaching that to new employees, accustomed to say "Allo".

In a company, this use ["business name/bonjour"] fits when you receive outside calls. But you'll admit it is not very convenient for inside calls. So one can say "department name/first name-surname/bonjour". If you receive outside and inside calls, it may be "business name/department name/first name-surname/bonjour". oooff!!!

Since four or five years, I use to hear : "surname-name" (without business name and without bonjour). At first, it was somehow shocking to me. I thought my friend Bernard, who first adopted this use, to be incurably snobbish. But now, as I am in a new occupation I'm beginning to say "Jacques Dupin Bonjour" ("Jacques Dupin" only go on seeming to me barbarian). As I feel it now, I'm trying to find the best compromise between inside calls, outside calls, people knowing me in my new job, people who do not know me, and so on.
Taking my phone is a true adventure. As we say in France : "on vit une époque formidable".


----------



## Solbrillante

I know just what you mean Jacques L. Dupin.  In our office, inside calls not only have a different ringtone than outside calls, but we also have caller-ID.  It is very easy to tell one from the other.  So it drives me nuts when someone answers an inside call by saying "such and such department".  Like, no kidding, I know what department I just called, could you please identify yourself?  I always worry that maybe I might say the wrong thing, thinking that I'm talking to someone other than who I really am talking to.

Sol


----------



## Etcetera

Solbrillante said:


> Just a little footnote, it is also considered proper etiquette here in the US that the person who placed the call is the one who should end it.


If there's such a rule in Russia, I'm not aware of it.


----------



## Crooklets

Hello everybody,

It's quite true - in Germany we say our surname or complete name when answering the phone. I think this is quite useful if people are unsure if they dialled the right number or not.

At the moment I'm in Spain and I find it quite irritating that people just say "si" or "digame" when answering - just the opposite to Latzana! ;-)

In England we very often pick up the phone and say state the place and telephone number "Swindon, 658667".


----------



## Laztana

Crooklets said:


> Hello everybody,
> 
> At the moment I'm in Spain and I find it quite irritating that people just say "si" or "digame" when answering - just the opposite to Latzana! ;-)



Hi Crooklets,

I have to say that I didn't find irritating when people answered saying their names in Germany. The irritating thing for me was that I was told off a few times by my german colleagues for not doing it myself . Now I'm coming back to Germany for a quite long period of time, so I guess that I will have to change my habits in that regard .

Welcome to the forum


----------



## Lucky Luke

I am Slovenian, and I live in Germany, so I can talk for both countrys.

In Germany you will tell them your name, and in Slovenia you will say: Zdravo??? which means Hello???.

I appreciate the Slovenian opinion more then the German one, because you can never be sure who is calling you and what he want from you.


----------



## Binapesi

In Turkish, it's more polite when you say "*Efendim*?", but "*Alo*?"s are also used. "*Alo*"s are used more than "*Efendim*"s though. Not rude, just normal, typical.

And some answer back to this "Alo" as "*Salamun Alaikum*" and the other end of the phone answers "*Alaikum Salam*" .. That one happens just in "*really*" Muslim families. It's said 99% of Turkey are Muslim, you know .. 

And then it keeps going on like that:

"How are you? What are you doing lately?"
"What would we do? We're doing fine."
"How are the other people at home? There isn't anything bad, right?"
"Everything is just fine. How are the people there?"
"There fine too ...


----------



## almondeyed

When I call our customer in  Spain he answers "Digame", but nobody from Spain mentioned about this kind of an answer. Is it so uncommon?

And in Turkey we generally answer saying "Alo" or "Efendim". "Efendim" is also used when answering somebody who calls out or speaks to you:

Mother: Ali! (From the kitchen)
Ali: Efendim? (yes?)
Mother: Dinner is ready. 


We also hang up saying "(sonra) görüşürüz" (see you (later)), bay bay (bye bye).


By the way:

Good bye


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## knuckleball_man

My mother has taught us children to say Hello + _the family name_ to let the person who called know if they have dialed the correct number.  

I did not see any mention in the thread about what you say if someone asks for you but you are already speaking.  The polite way to do this in English is to say "this is he" or "this is she" when someone asks for you.  It is also common to hear "speaking!".  

However, what a lot of people do is to say This is + _their name_, which I guess is what I typically do too.


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## sokol

Laztana said:


> And how does the person at the other end of the line react? When I answer "hallo" in Germany, the response I usually get is silence followed by "who are you?" with a surprise tone in the voice , is it the same for you?
> Because of this kind of reaction, I reached the conclusion that it is considered rude to answer "hallo" in Germany.



In *Austria *customs are similar to Germany, usually you answer with your name. (It was and partly even still is normal to answer the phone, if you are visiting a friend, with the friend's family name only or with "bei" + family name - meaning: this is family/household XXX speaking, rather than mentioning your own name - of course, this is only valid if you are good enough friends to consider answering the phone of your friend.)
But this already is changing rapidly due to the fact that on mobile phones usually you *do *know who is calling, and even else phones with displays showing the caller (if of course the caller is registered in your virtual phone book) are spreading rapidly.

For once, on *mobile phones* the most common answer to an unknown caller has long since changed to *"Hallo" *here in Austria, at least in the northern and eastern region where I live - and on cable phones the "Hallo" isn't the exception any more.
So I don't think anyone would be upset here in Austria if you don't say your name when answering the phone but "Hallo" or something similar.

However, for *business conversation* (doesn't matter wether on mobile or cable phone) there still apply the "traditional" rules that you should be answering with *both *company name and surname plus an additional greeting phrase, in this order, and it is considered obligatory to say good bye at the end of the conversation - at least unless you know the person you are talking to very good and have secretly agreed on it being okay hanging up on each other without (which is extremely rare but exists).

And if you know the caller then of course there are a great many possibilities to answer the phone.
With one of my business contacts (situated in Vienna, as I am) who I know very good already I usually answer with "Grüss Sie, Frau XXX" or even with "Frau XXX, was gibt's" which would be considered extremely rude if you hadn't established this 'code' of sorts beforehand.
(And yes, this Frau too could say to me "Herr XXX, ich hätt schon wieder ..." without me feeling offended in the least. )


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## Basaloe

In Sweden we say "Hi it is *name*"

Older people tend to say "*number* *last name*" but that is dying out.


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## VivaReggaeton88

In New York we say *hello?* in general, to a friend we might say *hey/**yo whats up?*. Surprisingly in Italian areas like parts of brooklyn and howard beach, even the non-italian speakers answer with pronto! or even ciao. Again, this is what happens in New York, the melting pot.

I have a Dominican friend who answers using the informal *dime* and no one has mentioned that yet,, is this common?


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## MarX

My Mexican friend always says "Bueno?" to answer the phone.


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## Mjolnir

In Israel we usually say הלו (hello?), כן (yes?), and בוקר/ערב טוב (good morning/evening).

If you're calling a corporation the answer will usually be "hello, you've reached X, Y speaking" (actually, it'll probably be a machine, but that belongs to a different thread).


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## MarcB

almondeyed said:


> When I call our customer in  Spain he answers "Digame", but nobody from Spain mentioned about this kind of an answer. Is it so uncommon?
> 
> And in Turkey we generally answer saying "Alo" or "Efendim". "Efendim" is also used when answering somebody who calls out or speaks to you:
> 
> Mother: Ali! (From the kitchen)
> Ali: Efendim? (yes?)
> Mother: Dinner is ready.
> 
> 
> We also hang up saying "(sonra) görüşürüz" (see you (later)), bay bay (bye bye).
> 
> 
> By the way:
> 
> Good bye


Diga or digame are common in most parts of Spain, but as you see there are different words in Latin America.


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## Sepia

In Germany it is gaining popularity simply saying

"Ja, bitte." (yes please)

I think thy widespread use of mobiles may have something to do with this: If somebody calls mr Mueller-Luedenscheid or dr Kluebener on his mobile they wouldn't expect anyone else answering, so a short "ja", or "ja, bitte" is totally sufficient. 

But maybe somebody can answer this one:

I have been watching a Latin American telenovela for a while. The story is not set in any particular existing country, but judging from accents, some of the actors might be Mexican, but not all. When they answer the phone most of them say "Halo" 

Can anyone tell me in which Spanish-speaking country that is the preferred way to answer the phone?


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## salvador_1_99

MarX said:


> My Mexican friend always says "Bueno?" to answer the phone.



So do I. I think "bueno" is the most common way of answer the phone in mexico, if not at least in my city.


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## Forero

dexter1355 said:


> Ha ha, this topic is quite interesting. My friend from China or Hong Kong say "Wei" to answer the telephone. While my Vietnamese friends say *"Allô". I guess they were influenced by the French culture.
> *


I'll guess Chinese "wéi" means "do"/"act" (go ahead?).  "Allô" no doubt is from French.


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## Spectre scolaire

Forero said:


> I'll guess Chinese "wéi" means "do"/"act" (go ahead?).


 Not quite. See posting #58! 
 ​


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## mirx

salvador_1_99 said:


> So do I. I think "bueno" is the most common way of answer the phone in mexico, if not at least in my city.


 
También en mi región.

¿De casualidad te has fijado en la fórmula que utilizan en las novelas?
Esta forma quizá refleje lo que se dice en otros estados, o lo que se usa en DF.

Me parece haber escuhado un "diga"; aunque ya ves que normalmente es una sirvienta la que levanta el teléfono: "mansión de la familia Limantour y Corcuera".


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## mgwls

Sepia said:


> Can anyone tell me in which Spanish-speaking country that is the preferred way to answer the phone?



Here, a lot of people (especially the older) answer the phone saying "aló." Most of us use "¿sí?" (_yes?_) or just a simple "hola." Some people also say "hable" (_speak_) or "diga" (_say_). To say goodbye most people use "chau" or "adiós" but this one to a lesser extent.


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## Scherle

It actually depend on a person's personality or it sometimes depend on how a person was taught by his elder. 

In the Philippines,we  answer the phone by saying "Good morning/afternoon/evening,XXXX residence.May I know whose on the line please? In bussiness manner, we answer "Good morning/afternoon/evening,xxx(name of the company).How can I direct your call? 

We say goodbye to end the call.We even say take care sometimes. On the otherhand we say the name of the company (e.g. Thank you for calling(name of the company) and you have a great day) before hanging up in the phone in our workplace.


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## Payangde

In my country, people just say 'Allo', just like in France. I have no idea about the meaning of such word but as much as I know, it does not mean anything. Just to let the other at the other end of the line know you are attentive. Allo is also just a heritage from the colonial period (Burkina Faso was colonised by France). But I have of my good friend who just say when you call him on phone: Bonjour, c'est Mossa j'écoute'; means Hi, I am Moussa, listening. Not fine? I prefer because at least it means much...


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## Grop

Payangde said:


> In my country, people just say 'Allo', just like in France. I have no idea about the meaning of such word



It is most probably a deformation of English 'hello' ^^.


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## Mei

Hi there, I heard people say "Digamelón?"  I guess spanish people will know what I'm talking about!    

See you around!


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## kari3103

In Argentina we say: Hola? (hello?) but if you are at work you must say: Buenos días, buenas tardes o buenas noches. (good morning, good afternoon or good night)
But some people say: hable! (speak!) I think is very rude :S. .


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## DavidCornell

I've noticed that sometimes Americans say "I love ya, bye" to their spouses on the phone.



DearPrudence said:


> I've also been struck by the way people hang up without saying anything in American series.
> With family & friends, we like ending with *"(gros) bisous" *_((big) kisses)_


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## Mate

Mei said:


> Hi there, I heard people say "Digamelón?"  I guess spanish people will know what I'm talking about!
> 
> See you around!


I'm not Spanish so I'm not sure about what you mean to say . 
If I hear someone picking the phone and saying "digamelón" perhaps my first, instinctive reaction would be to reply "melón" .


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