Breakdown of Was ist los? Das Handy funktioniert nicht.
sein
to be
nicht
not
funktionieren
to work (function)
das Handy
the cellphone
was
what
Was ist los?
what's going on? what's wrong?
Questions & Answers about Was ist los? Das Handy funktioniert nicht.
How does Was ist los translate to "What's wrong?"?
Was is the question word for "what". The phrase Was ist los? is a very common idiom in German. It literally translates closer to "What is loose?" but actually means "What's going on?" or "What's wrong?". You will hear it a lot when someone is asking about a problem.
Why is the word for phone Handy? Is that an English word?
It looks like English, but it is actually a German invention! In German, das Handy specifically means a mobile phone or cell phone. For a traditional landline telephone, Germans use the word das Telefon.
Can I use arbeitet instead of funktioniert to say the phone isn't working?
No. In English, we use "working" for both people doing a job and machines operating. In German, you must use arbeiten for people doing work, and funktionieren (functioning) for machines or electronics.
Why does nicht come at the very end of the sentence?
In a simple sentence like Das Handy funktioniert nicht, the negation word nicht (not) comes after the conjugated verb (funktioniert). When you want to say that an action isn't happening at all, nicht usually gets pushed to the end of the sentence.
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