to call back / recall
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to call back
To return a phone call after someone has called you or after you have missed a call.
Ich bin gerade in einer Besprechung, kann ich Sie in einer Stunde zurückrufen?
I'm in a meeting right now; can I call you back in an hour?
'Zurückrufen' (to call back/recall) is a separable verb. In a main clause, the prefix 'zurück' comes at the end. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive with 'zu', the verb stays together.
Er ruft mich später zurück.
He'll call me back later.
The prefix 'zurück-' always means a movement or action in the reverse direction or back to the starting point. This logic applies to all meanings: returning a call (back), getting someone to come (back), or taking a product out of circulation (back).
Der Trainer rief den Spieler zur Bank zurück.
The coach called the player back to the bench.
The meaning of 'zurückrufen' (to call back/recall) becomes clear immediately from the context. Pay attention to whether it is about a phone, a person, a product, or a memory.
Der Konzern muss das neue Modell zurückrufen.
The corporation has to recall the new model.
In everyday life, the most common meaning is returning a phone call. A very typical and polite phrase is: 'Ich rufe Sie/dich später/gleich zurück.' (I'll call you back later/right away.)
Können Sie mich bitte zurückrufen, wenn Sie Zeit haben?
Could you please call me back when you have time?
In this meaning, the subject is usually the manufacturer or the company. The accusative object is the defective product.
Der Lebensmittelhersteller rief eine Charge Joghurt zurück.
The food manufacturer recalled a batch of yogurt.
The meaning 'to remember' is used almost exclusively in the fixed expression 'sich (Dativ) etwas ins Gedächtnis zurückrufen' (to call something to mind). The person who remembers is in the dative.
Sie versuchte, sich die Details des Gesprächs ins Gedächtnis zurückzurufen.
She tried to call the details of the conversation to mind.
to forget
'vergessen' and 'zurückrufen' form a practical contrast here when it comes to a phone call. In this context, 'vergessen' means that you do not do something because you did not think of it, for example returning a call. 'zurückrufen' means exactly that action: you call someone after that person called before. So the contrast is: you do not remember and do not do it, or you take care of the callback.
Nach der Besprechung hat Anna den Kunden sofort zurückgerufen.
After the meeting, Anna called the customer back right away.
Meine Nachbarin vergisst manchmal, mich nach einem verpassten Anruf zurückzurufen.
My neighbor sometimes forgets to call me back after a missed call.