Chinese word

打电话

Pronunciation

Pinyindǎ diàn huà

Meaning

  • verbcall

Example

我给你打电话吧。wǒ gěi nǐ dǎ diàn huà ba

I'll call you.

Illustration for 打电话 (call)

More examples

现在不能打电话。xiàn zài bù néng dǎ diàn huà

I can't call now.

Core concept

A phone serves as a bridge for reaching someone from a distance.

Common phrases

  • 给妈妈打电话gěi mā mā dǎ diàn huà

    call Mom

  • 给朋友打电话gěi péng yǒu dǎ diàn huà

    call a friend

  • 给你打电话gěi nǐ dǎ diàn huà

    call you

Similar words

接电话jiē diàn huà: Taking an incoming call and talking with the caller.
给...打电话gěi dǎ diàn huà: Putting the person being called after 给 (gěi, "to") expresses calling that person by phone.
联系lián xì: Reaching someone by phone, email, or another method to pass on information or discuss a matter.
通话tōng huà: Speaking back and forth with someone by phone.

Definition in Chinese

用电话与对方通话或联络，通常指主动拨打发起通话的行为。yòng diàn huà yǔ duì fāng tōng huà huò lián luò tōng cháng zhǐ zhǔ dòng bō dǎ fā qǐ tōng huà de xíng wéi

Word origin

打电话 (dǎdiànhuà, "call") pairs 打 (dǎ, "perform an action") with 电话 (diànhuà, "telephone"), creating a verb phrase for carrying out contact by telephone.

Usage tips

  • English call can stand alone, but Chinese commonly expresses this action as a verb followed by its object, so the pattern helps build longer everyday sentences.

Opposites

Word lists with this word