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would it be correct to use "wegen X" as an equivalent to "for X" at a reception desk.

For example "Hi, for the blood test, should I...". Would it be equivalent to "Hallo, wegen dem Bluttest, sollte man links oder rechts gehen?. .."

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First, wegen requires the genitive, so it must be

Hallo, wegen des Bluttests, ...

For the question which word to use, yes, you can use either für X or wegen Y, both would be correct. Which one would sound more natural would depend a bit un the exact wording.

The version with wegen would be the best choice as an introduction to another complete sentence. Examples:

Wegen des Bluttests: Darf ich da vorher etwas essen, oder muss ich nüchtern sein?
(For the blood test: may I eat something before or do I need to have an empty stomach?)

Wegen des Bluttests sollte ich mich bei Doktor Müller melden.
(With respect to the blood test I should report to Doktor Müller)

Wegen des Bluttests hätte ich da noch ein paar Fragen
(With regard to the blood test, I still have some questions)

In your concrete example with direction, wegen is also possible, but I would probably rather say

Für den Bluttest, muss ich da nach rechts oder links?
or even
Zum Bluttest, muss ich da nach rechts oder links?

But that is a matter of style rather than a matter of right or wrong.

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  • I know officially it must be genitive. But here in Franconia people don't say that. We all say wegen dem...
    – zomega
    Nov 12, 2019 at 13:52
  • @somega I just needed strong self-discipline to refrain from making a snarky remark about the "German" the people in the south are speaking... Nov 12, 2019 at 14:03
  • Andererseits - man gewöhnt sich an allem, sogar am Dativ Nov 12, 2019 at 14:04
  • Oder an unnötige Kommentare im Allgemeinen :) Nov 12, 2019 at 18:25
  • @Volker Landgraf: In spoken German you will very often come across wegen + Dativ. Okay, it's not 'standard German', but as far as I can see it would be wrong to say that wegen + Dativ is wrong. In my region and in the given situation "wegen des Bluttests" sounds rather bookish. I live in the Ruhr area. The question reminds me the ongoing dispute whether it has to be Schraubendreher or Schraubenzieher, as most people say. Nov 12, 2019 at 18:32

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