Questions & Answers about Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
In German, every noun has a grammatical gender that usually does not follow logical rules.
- Handy (mobile phone / cell phone) is grammatically neuter, so it always takes the article das in the singular.
- das Handy – the mobile phone
- ein Handy – a mobile phone
You simply have to memorize noun + article together:
- das Handy, das Auto, das Buch (all neuter)
- der Tisch, der Computer (masculine)
- die Lampe, die Zeitung (feminine)
No. This is a classic “false friend.”
- In German, Handy is a noun and means mobile phone / cell phone.
- In English, handy is an adjective and means useful, convenient, or sometimes skilful with your hands (“He’s very handy.”).
So:
- Das Handy → the mobile phone / cell phone
- handy (Eng.) → praktisch, nützlich, geschickt in German (depending on context)
In a main clause in German, the finite verb (the conjugated verb) almost always comes in second position:
- First “slot”: usually the subject → Das Handy
- Second “slot”: the verb → klingelt
- Everything else goes after the verb → schon wieder
So the “normal,” neutral word order is:
- Das Handy (subject)
- klingelt (verb – 2nd position)
- schon wieder (adverbial phrase)
You can move schon wieder or Das Handy for emphasis, but the verb still stays second:
- Schon wieder klingelt das Handy. (Focus on “again, already!”)
- Wieder klingelt das Handy. (Again, again, again…)
“Das Handy schon wieder klingelt” is not idiomatic German word order.
All three have different nuances:
wieder = again (neutral repetition)
- Das Handy klingelt wieder. → The phone is ringing again (it rang before; now it’s ringing again).
schon = already (earlier than expected, or faster than expected)
- Das Handy klingelt schon. → The phone is already ringing (maybe sooner than expected).
schon wieder together = again already / yet again / once again
This combination almost always expresses mild annoyance, frustration, or surprise that something is happening again, often too soon:- Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
→ The phone is ringing again already / The phone is ringing yet again.
Implied feeling: “Ugh, not again.”
- Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
So schon wieder is not just “again”; it usually carries an emotional tone.
Klingeln is the infinitive (“to ring”). It is a regular verb.
Present tense forms:
- ich klingele – I ring / am ringing
- du klingelst – you (singular, informal) ring
- er/sie/es klingelt – he/she/it rings
- wir klingeln – we ring
- ihr klingelt – you (plural, informal) ring
- sie/Sie klingeln – they / you (formal) ring
In the sentence Das Handy klingelt, the subject is das Handy = es (3rd person singular, “it”), so the correct form is:
- es klingelt
That’s why we use klingelt, with -t.
German usually does not have a special continuous/progressive tense like English (is ringing, is doing, are going).
The simple present form in German often covers both:
- Das Handy klingelt.
→ The phone rings.
→ The phone is ringing.
Context tells you whether it’s a general statement or an action happening right now.
You can say things like:
- Das Handy ist am Klingeln. (regional/colloquial, esp. in some western areas)
- Das Handy ist gerade am Klingeln.
But the normal, standard way is simply:
- Das Handy klingelt. = The phone is ringing.
Compare:
Das Handy klingelt.
→ Neutral: The phone is ringing.Das Handy klingelt wieder.
→ Neutral repetition: The phone is ringing again.Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
→ Repetition plus emotion: The phone is ringing yet again / already again.
Usually signals mild annoyance, impatience, or surprise that it’s happening again (and probably too soon).
No, not in standard German.
In German, singular countable nouns almost always need an article (definite, indefinite, or another determiner), unless there is a special reason not to.
So:
- Das Handy klingelt schon wieder. ✅
- Ein Handy klingelt schon wieder. ✅ (some phone or other is ringing again)
- Handy klingelt schon wieder. ❌ (sounds wrong in standard German)
There are a few fixed expressions without articles (Schule, Arbeit, zu Hause etc.), but Handy is not one of them here.
The standard, correct plural is:
- das Handy → die Handys
So the sentence in the plural would be:
- Die Handys klingeln schon wieder.
→ The phones are ringing yet again.
You will sometimes see Handies, but that spelling is considered incorrect or at least non‑standard in contemporary German.
Yes, but the meaning is slightly different:
Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
→ Specifically the mobile phone / cell phone is ringing again.Das Telefon klingelt schon wieder.
→ The telephone is ringing again.
This usually suggests a landline / house phone, unless context makes it clear it’s a mobile.
In everyday current usage:
- Handy = mobile
- Telefon = any phone, often landline
Yes, that word order is correct and idiomatic:
- Schon wieder klingelt das Handy.
- Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
Both mean essentially the same thing: The phone is ringing again already / yet again.
The difference is emphasis:
- Schon wieder klingelt das Handy.
→ Stronger focus on “already again!” – often a bit more emotional or annoyed. - Das Handy klingelt schon wieder.
→ Slightly more neutral, though still carries the “again already” nuance.
In both cases, the verb remains in second position (after Schon wieder or after Das Handy).
Approximate pronunciation (IPA and English hints):
Handy → /ˈhɛndi/
- Han- like English “hen”, not like English hand
- stress on the first syllable: HEN-dee
klingelt → /ˈklɪŋəlt/
- kli- like “cling” in English
- the e in -gelt is a short, unstressed sound (schwa-like)
- final -t is pronounced
schon → /ʃoːn/
- sch- like English “sh”
- long oː like in English “show” (but without the w at the end)
- Don’t confuse schon (already) with schön (beautiful, nice) – schön has ö, pronounced /ʃøːn/.