{"id":183601,"date":"2017-06-23T13:16:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-23T17:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/chinese-phone-conversation\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T00:35:47","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T05:35:47","slug":"chinese-phone-conversation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/chinese\/chinese-phone-conversation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Guide to Chinese Phone Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first phone I had while living in China<\/a> was a terrifying, pre-pay “burner” phone that screeched the number of the caller every time it rang. And the person on the other hand was a courier, someone chasing a bill or my landlord\u2014a Chinese person who expected to speak in Chinese.<\/p>\n

When you’re learning a new language and living in a foreign country, you develop a love\/hate relationship with your phone. Here, I’ll give you a complete guide to having a Chinese phone conversation confidently.<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Basic Words and Phrases for Chinese Phone Conversations<\/h2>\n

Before you can talk on the phone, you’ll need some simple words and phrases to get you started. They’re pretty intuitive and simple. Let’s look at some right now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Chinese<\/th>Pinyin<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u6253\u7535\u8bdd<\/b><\/td>d\u01ce di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/i><\/td>To make a phone call<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7535\u8bdd<\/b><\/td>di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/i><\/td>Phone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u63a5\u7535\u8bdd<\/b><\/td>ji\u0113 di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/i><\/td>To answer a call or answer the phone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u6302\u7535\u8bdd<\/b><\/td>gu\u00e0 di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/i><\/td>To hang up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u53d1\u77ed\u4fe1<\/b><\/td>f\u0101 du\u01cen x\u00ecn<\/i><\/td>To send a text message<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8389\u8389\u5728\u4e0d\u5728<\/b><\/td>l\u00ec l\u00ec z\u00e0i b\u00f9 z\u00e0i?<\/i><\/td>Is Lily there?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u6211\u662f\u4e3d\u4e3d<\/b><\/td>w\u01d2 sh\u00ec l\u00ec l\u00ec<\/i><\/td>This is Lily<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u624b\u673a<\/b><\/td>sh\u01d2u j\u012b<\/i><\/td>Cell\u00a0phone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7535\u8bdd\u53f7\u7801<\/b><\/td>di\u00e0n hu\u00e0 h\u00e0o m\u01ce<\/i><\/td>Phone number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4f60\u6253\u9519\u4e86<\/b><\/td>n\u01d0 d\u01ce cu\u00f2 le<\/i><\/td>You called\u00a0the wrong number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u91cd\u62e8<\/b><\/td>ch\u00f3ng b\u014d<\/i><\/td>To redial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u9759\u97f3<\/b><\/td>j\u00ecng y\u012bn<\/i><\/td>Mute<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u514d\u63d0<\/b><\/td>mi\u01cen t\u00ed<\/i><\/td>Speakerphone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5f55\u97f3<\/b><\/td>l\u00f9 y\u012bn<\/i><\/td>Recording<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8f6c\u63a5<\/b><\/td>zhu\u01cen ji\u0113<\/i><\/td>To transfer (a call)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u547c\u53eb\u7b49\u5f85<\/b><\/td>h\u016b ji\u00e0o d\u011bng d\u00e0i<\/i><\/td>Call waiting<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8bed\u97f3\u4fe1\u7bb1<\/b><\/td>y\u01d4 y\u012bn x\u00ecng x\u0101ng<\/i><\/td>Voicemail<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u7559\u8a00<\/b><\/td>li\u00fa y\u00e1n<\/i><\/td>To leave a message<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8bf7\u7559\u8a00<\/b><\/td>q\u01d0ng li\u00fa y\u00e1n<\/i><\/td>Please leave a message<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u56de\u7535\u8bdd<\/b><\/td>hu\u00ed di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/i><\/td>To call back<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8bf7\u7ed9\u6211\u56de\u4e2a\u7535\u8bdd<\/b><\/td>q\u01d0ng g\u011bi w\u01d2 hu\u00ed g\u00e8 di\u00e0n hu\u00e0<\/i><\/td>Please call me back<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

How to Answer a Phone Call in Chinese<\/h2>\n

In Chinese, we don’t answer the phone with \u4f60\u597d (n\u01d0 h\u01ceo). Instead, we use the word \u5582 (w\u00e8i), which is a way of saying hello, but only over the phone. Note that even though it technically has a fourth tone, it’s pronounced with the second tone when answering a call.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To express agreement and acknowledge that you’ve heard what the other person is saying, a common expression to use both on the phone and in person is \u597d\u4e86<\/strong> (h\u01ceo le)<\/em> \u2014 all right.<\/p>\n

When something is agreed upon\u2014like a time and a place to meet\u2014\u597d\u7684<\/strong> (h\u01ceo de)<\/em> \u2014 okay, is an easy expression to use.<\/p>\n

Here are some more survival phrases for answering phone calls in Chinese that will come in handy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Chinese<\/th>Pinyin<\/th>English<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
\u5582? \u60a8\u662f\u54ea\u4f4d?<\/b><\/td>w\u00e8i? n\u00edn sh\u00ec n\u01ce w\u00e8i?<\/i><\/td>Hello, who is this?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u4f60\u8bf4<\/b><\/td>n\u01d0 shu\u014d<\/i><\/td>Go ahead<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8bf7\u8bb2<\/b><\/td>q\u01d0ng ji\u01ceng<\/i><\/td>Please speak<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u60a8\u597d\uff0c\u8bf7\u95ee\u60a8\u627e\u8c01<\/b><\/td>n\u00edn h\u01ceo, q\u01d0ng w\u00e8n n\u00edn zh\u01ceo shu\u00ed<\/i><\/td>Hello, who are you looking for?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8fd9\u91cc\u662f...<\/b><\/td>zh\u00e8 l\u01d0 sh\u00ec...<\/i><\/td>This is...<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8bf7\u95ee\u60a8\u662f<\/b><\/td>q\u01d0ng w\u00e8n n\u00edn sh\u00ec<\/i><\/td>Who is this? (formal)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u60a8\u62e8\u6253\u7684\u7535\u8bdd...<\/b><\/td>n\u00edn b\u014d d\u0103 de di\u00e0n hu\u00e0...<\/i><\/td>The number you dialed...<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u60a8\u6240\u62e8\u6253\u7684\u7535\u8bdd\u6682\u65f6\u65e0\u4eba\u63a5\u542c<\/b><\/td>n\u00edn su\u01d2 b\u014d d\u0103 de di\u00e0n hu\u00e0 z\u00e0n sh\u00ed w\u00fa r\u00e9n ji\u0113 t\u012bng<\/i><\/td>The number you dialed is not available<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u60a8\u62e8\u9519\u53f7\u4e86<\/b><\/td>du\u00ec bu q\u01d0, n\u00edn b\u014d cu\u00f2 h\u00e0o le<\/i><\/td>Sorry, wrong number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u8bf7\u7a0d\u7b49<\/b><\/td>q\u01d0ng sh\u0101o d\u011bng<\/i><\/td>Please wait<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u5bf9\u65b9\u6b63\u5728\u901a\u8bdd\u4e2d<\/b><\/td>du\u00ec f\u0101ng zh\u00e8ng z\u00e0i t\u014dng hu\u00e0 zh\u014dng<\/i><\/td>The other party is busy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

You can learn both formal vocabulary and natural conversational words and phrases by using an immersive program like FluentU<\/a>.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n

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