German Phrase
Zeig es auf deinem Handy.
Meaning
‘Show it on your phone.’ The speaker asks the listener to display a specific item—like a photo, a map, a video—directly on the screen of their mobile device.
When to use
Use this phrase in informal situations when you need someone to quickly pull up something on their phone, for example when sharing a location, a receipt, or a funny meme during a conversation.
✦Grammar Breakdown
ZeigesaufdeinemHandy
Imperative (2nd person singular)
‘Zeig’ is the informal imperative form of the verb ‘zeigen’ (to show) used when speaking to one person you address with ‘du’.
Accusative pronoun ‘es’
‘es’ is the neuter accusative pronoun referring to the thing that should be shown.
Preposition ‘auf’ + dative
When ‘auf’ indicates a location (on, upon), it governs the dative case; therefore ‘deinem Handy’ is dative.
Possessive article ‘deinem’
‘deinem’ is the dative masculine/neuter form of the possessive article for ‘du’, matching ‘Handy’ (neuter).
Noun ‘Handy’
‘Handy’ is a neuter noun (das Handy) meaning ‘mobile phone’; in the dative it becomes ‘dem Handy’, but with the possessive article it is ‘deinem Handy’.
🗨In Conversation
Kannst du mir das Restaurant auf deinem Handy zeigen?
Can you show me the restaurant on your phone?
Klar, hier ist es.
Sure, here it is.
✕Common Mistakes
Zeig es auf dein Handy.
‘Handy’ is the object of the preposition ‘auf’, which requires the dative case; the correct form is ‘deinem Handy’.
Zeig mir es auf deinem Handy.
Pronoun order in German places the object pronoun before the prepositional phrase; the correct order is ‘Zeig es …’.
Zeig es in deinem Handy.
‘In’ would suggest inside the device, which is not the intended meaning; use ‘auf’ for ‘on the screen’.
↔Alternatives
Zeig es mir auf deinem Handy.
Show it to me on your phone.
Zeig es auf deinem Telefon.
Show it on your telephone.
Zeig es auf deinem Smartphone.
Show it on your smartphone.
Cultural Tip
In Germany ‘Handy’ is the everyday word for a mobile phone, while in Austria you’ll more often hear ‘Mobiltelefon’. The imperative ‘Zeig’ is informal; in a formal context you would say ‘Zeigen Sie es auf Ihrem Handy.’ Also, Germans tend to be precise about case, so using the dative after ‘auf’ is essential for sounding natural.