3

I know that on the telephone, assuming that one wants to be formal/not familiar, one would use «Auf Wiederhören» (meaning "until I hear from you again"), and that in person «Auf Wiedersehen» ("until I see you again") is used.

With the invention of video calling, such as Skype, Zoom, etc., what would a German person use to close a conversation on a video call? Does one use the normal telephone farewell, the in-person farewell, or something completely different?

Improve this question
1
  • 3
    In my experience, it's not different from saying any way of goodbye in person. I don't remember someone saying a goodbye-phrase that seemed off to me.
    – akuzminykh
    Sep 30, 2020 at 18:12

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

German persons, Austrian persons, German speaking Swiss persons and all other persons who speak German use the same expressions in video calls as in conversations where people meet in person.

"Auf Wiedersehen" means "until we see each other again". It does not mean "until we meet in person again". And since you can see each other in a video call, there is no difference to in-person-meetings.

Improve this answer
2
  • This was something that I had been wondering for a long time. I took German in Secondary School, and that was before Skype and the others came to prominence
    – Matthew Barclay
    Sep 30, 2020 at 22:59
  • It might be interesting to know that "auf Wiederhören" seems to be vanishing slowly in daily usage on the phone, at least in my experience.
    – tofro
    Oct 6, 2020 at 10:28

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.