telephone book
Loading your saved state.
telephone book
A directory that lists the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of people and businesses in a specific region. It exists both in printed form and as an online database.
Früher hat man die Nummer im Telefonbuch nachgeschlagen, heute sucht man meistens online.
In the past, people looked up the number in the telephone book; today, they usually search online.
The word is a simple compound of 'das Telefon' (the telephone) and 'das Buch' (the book). So it is literally a book with telephone numbers.
Ein Telefonbuch war früher in jedem Haushalt zu finden.
A telephone book used to be found in every household.
The most common action connected with the telephone book is 'nachschlagen' (to look up). The preposition 'in' is used with the dative: 'im Telefonbuch nachschlagen' (to look something up in the telephone book).
Ich habe seine Adresse im Telefonbuch nachgeschlagen.
I looked up his address in the telephone book.
Although the printed telephone book is rare today, the word is still used, often also for online directories. It can also evoke nostalgia for the time before the internet.
Die Kontaktdaten des Unternehmens finden Sie im digitalen Telefonbuch auf der Webseite.
You can find the company's contact details in the digital telephone book on the website.
directory / index
'das Verzeichnis' and 'das Telefonbuch' are both organized collections of information that make it easier to find something. 'das Verzeichnis' is the more general term. It can refer to many kinds of lists, for example a table of contents, an address directory, or a folder on a computer. 'das Telefonbuch' is a specific directory with names, addresses, and telephone numbers. The words can be confused because a Telefonbuch is a type of Verzeichnis. But not every Verzeichnis is a Telefonbuch.
Wir suchen die Nummer der Praxis im Telefonbuch.
We are looking for the practice's number in the telephone book.
Im Verzeichnis finde ich schnell die richtige Seite des Handbuchs.
In the index, I can quickly find the right page of the manual.