![]() larger screens) than traditionally a Handy. However, for its brevity, Handy is still the preferred form in German. Das Smartphone (smart phone) has also become a lot more common in recent years, due to the ascent of the smart phone being a new concept with new possibilities, a larger form factor (e.g. Other words for Handy are das Mobiltelefon (mobile phone). In 1996, the Duden first incorporated it in its dictionary.Īnd so even though Handy has no English equivalent, Germans use this very English-sounding word for cell phone! A real Scheinanglizismus! Are there other German words for it? Mobiltelefon or Funktelefon are too large words for the small devices that they are, so Handy stuck around. Many other terms were proposed (such as Mobi, Mini, Foni). Recorded as Hand, Hands and Handy, the latter being a diminutive, this unusual surname is English. “Mobil” was associated with mobility ( Mobilität) and Automobil (Automobile), so associating a new product with that would be confusing. “Mobile phone”, or Mobiltelefon was widely associated with a car phone, as that was the only way a phone could be mobile at the time. “Cellular phone”, which you could translate as Zellulartelefon reminds too much of Telefonzelle (phone booth). So when mobile phones became a thing, the English had either “cellular phone” or “mobile phone” on offer. ![]() The Nokia 3310 with German layout, a classic Handy that came out at the turn of the century (Image by Discostu at, public domain) ![]() Even though in English, “handy” is an adjective, during this time it became widely known in Germany as a substantive noun – das Handy was born. The Handycam was introduced, Funkgeräte got names containing Handy… But mobile phones did not exist yet. She always comes up with great ideas for handy dandy new tools.·♺ childrens game in which one child guesses in which closed hand the other holds some small object, winning the object if right and forfeiting an equivalent if wrong. When walkie-talkies and other such radio transceivers ( Funkgeräte) became more commonplace in the 1970s and 1980s, the word Handy popped up more as well. (informal) Handy helpful or useful, as due to some clever trick or design. Somehow, walkie-talkie remained the term for the handheld devices too, however. And because it was handheld, the “Handie-Talkie” became a thing. This was very handy, indeed, as one person could do the talking without requiring another person to have this bulky backpack strapped on. An innovation of this was a handheld device that no longer required a backpack. In the 1940s, US soldiers used to communicate in military operations with “Walkie-Talkies” – literally somebody with a backpack (who walks) and another person that uses the device (who talks). * This article (though in German), gives an even more extensive explanation! I got much of the information from there.* A Walkie-Talkie (LuckyLouie at, public domain)
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