Hast du einen Bleistift dabei?

English Translation

Do you have a pen on you?

Is Bleistift not “pencil”? Does Bleistift work for a pen?

You’re right. I would just use “Stift” for “pen”. “Bleistift” is too specific here, as it means “pencil”, as you say.

That said, “Stift” is so generic, that it needs context to be understood as “pen”. The context might be enough here, but one phrase that Germans like to use is this:

Hast du was zum Schreiben dabei?

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