phone [noun] [de telefoon, de telefoons] [‘tee-lu-foon’]
"Telefoon" is both used for fixed and mobile phones unless unclear from context.
Examples:
– "De telefoon gaat! Neem jij even op?"
("The phone is ringing! Will you answer it?" Lit.: "The phone goes! Will you pick it up?")
– "Ja sorry, ik was gisteren niet bereikbaar want ik was mijn telefoon vergeten mee te nemen."
("Yeah I’m sorry, you couldn’t reach me yesterday because I forgot to bring my phone." Lit.: "…, I could not be reached yesterday because I forgot to take along my phone.")
– "Hoe lang heb jij al een mobiele telefoon?" – "O, al sinds 1998!"
("For how long have you had a mobile phone?" – "Oh, since 1998!" The word "al" usually translates to already, and in this case is used to emphasize.)
– "Het is in Nederland alleen toegestaan hands-free te bellen tijdens het rijden."
("In the Netherlands it is only allowed to phone hands-free while driving.")
– "Ik kan even niet chatten want ik ben aan de telefoon."
("I can’t chat right now, because I’m on the phone." This is not a contradiction, in Dutch "chatten" always means to chat on-line through for example MSN Messenger. You will also hear the verb "MSN-en".)
– "Heb je je moeder al gebeld?" – "Ja, maar het is telkens in gesprek."
("Have you already called your mother?" – "Yes, but the line is busy all the time.")
– "Waar is Isabelle?" – "Ach, ze zit de hele dag al aan de telefoon!"
("Where is Isabelle?" – "Ah well, she has been on the phone all day long now!")
– "Ik kom er zo aan, ik moet nog even een telefoontje plegen."
("I’ll be there shortly, I quickly have to make a phone call.")
Expressions:
– "Verkeerd verbonden": literally "incorrectly connected" this used to be said, and sometimes is still said when you have dialed a wrong number (which is obviously not your fault).
– "Een nummer draaien": literally "to rotate a number", derived from rotating the dial disk on old phones.
– "De hoorn erop gooien": to slam the phone/receiver down. Sometimes also implicitly "hem erop gooien" ("slam it down"). Lit.: "To throw the horn on it". This expression is disappearing a bit since we don’t really have anything to slam down anymore these days.
Related words:
– "Bellen": to call, to ring.
– "Opbellen": to ring (up), to call.
– "Telefoonnummer": phone number.
– "Telefoonboek": phone book.
– "Telefooncel": phone booth.
– "Mobiele telefoon": mobile/cell phone.
– "Mobieltje": mobile/cell [noun, informal].
– "06": cell [noun, informal] [‘nul-zes’].
Example:- "Ik ben weg, bel me straks maar op m’n 06!"
("I’m off, just call me on my cell later!")
– "Aftappen": to tap (a phone).
Extra:
Look up phone numbers on-line at www.telefoongids.nl or www.goudengids.nl .