Day 59 of 59

Day 59: A Phone for an Eighty-Year-Old

In a phone shop in Saarbrücken, Heike (A) is looking for a phone for her mother's eightieth birthday and asks a young shop assistant (B) for advice.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning

  1. A

    Guten Tag, ich suche ein Seniorenhandy mit großen Tasten. Meine Mutter wird achtzig.

    Hello, I'm looking for a senior phone with big buttons. My mother's turning eighty.

  2. B

    Gern. Bevor Sie eine Entscheidung treffen: Möchte sie damit nur telefonieren?

    Of course. Before you make a decision: does she only want it for phone calls?

  3. A

    Ja, je einfacher, desto besser. Sie hat's nicht so mit Technik.

    Yes, the simpler the better. She's not really one for technology.

  4. B

    Und Fotos von den Enkelkindern? Die kann sie auf so einem kleinen Bildschirm kaum erkennen.

    And photos of her grandchildren? She'll hardly be able to make them out on a small screen like that.

  5. A

    Stimmt schon, aber ein Smartphone kommt nicht in Frage. Damit wäre sie völlig überfordert.

    That's true, but a smartphone's out of the question. It would be far too much for her.

  6. B

    Das dachte meine Oma auch. Seit ihr Smartphone im einfachen Modus läuft, schickt sie mir täglich Sprachnachrichten.

    My gran thought so too. Since her smartphone's been in simple mode, she sends me voice messages every day.

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