Cards: recharge or top up?

Question

A follow-up question from this thread.Do you recharge cards or top up cards? If both, do they mean the same to you or is there any difference?As I was used to "top up cards" (UK), I was wondering if you top them up when you add some money to the existing balance and recharge them when the balance is exhausted. [:^)] (But I'm probably on the wrong track).Thanks!

Philip · Accepted Answer

I have heard "add to the amount on the card".

Optilang · Answer

Hi

I'm not an expert on this as I've always had a contract with my mobile.

I have never heard anyone say that thy had to 'recharge' their card or phone. I have heard people say: - 'I have to top up my phone' and 'I have to put some (more) credit on my phone'.

We charge our mobiles = we plug them in to the electricity supply to charge the battery.

Kooyeen · Answer

TanitAs I was used to "top up cards" (UK), I was wondering if you top them up when you add some money to the existing balance and recharge them when the balance is exhausted. (But I'm probably on the wrong track).

Hmm, because "top up" is actually used to mean you fill up something when it's partially empty, right? But I think you usually still have a little money left on your phone when you decide to "top it up", so it makes sense. Anyway, when "forced" to explain something like this, I have been saying "put money on my phone".

Tanit · Answer

Hi, thank you all!

optilangI have never heard anyone say that thy had to 'recharge' their card or phone.

Me neither; that's why I was asking.

I always heard (and read)"top up" while I was in the UK.

If one of my (Italiian) mates had said that he was going to recharge his card, I would have thought he was translating word-for-word from Italian.

Apparently, though, "recharge" meaning "add money" is fine somewhere (A-

s didn't see anything wrong in the thread I linked), so I was basically asking whether they are interchangeable or whether native speakers perceive any difference.

Nobody using "recharge" this way has posted here so far, though. Any more opinions?

Anonymous · Answer

hey ,
I live in Romania and we use "recharge" here all the time because thats the term phone companies got us used to. In France they do the same (rechargement) and Spain (recargar), I can't really speak Italian, but I believe theyr term is "ricargare" or something like that. I guess the term "top-up" is moastly used by english and german countries (first heard top-up in Netherlands).
Maybe I solved part of the mistery

cheers

Tanit · Answer

Anonymoushey ,I live in Romania and we use "recharge" here all the time because thats the term phone companies got us used to. In France they do the same (rechargement) and Spain (recargar), I can't really speak Italian, but I believe theyr term is "ricargare" or something like that. I guess the term "top-up" is moastly used by english and german countries (first heard top-up in Netherlands).Maybe I solved part of the mistery cheers

Very kind of you, but...

no. 1: in Italian it would be "ricaricare", not "ricargare"

no. 2: I wrote earlier (wow ... that was three years ago!) that "recharge your card" to me sounds like a verbatim translation from the Italian (and, as you say, this would apply to other latin-based languages).

"To top up your card/mobile" is fine in British English: I know that (and knew at the time I posted) for sure.
I was just asking if native speakers would find the other expression innatural.

Cheers.

Cards: recharge or top up?

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