Chinese word

接线员

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiē xiàn yuán

Meaning

  • nounoperator

Example

电话响了，让接线员接吧。diàn huà xiǎng le ràng jiē xiàn yuán jiē ba

When the phone rings, have the operator answer it.

Illustration for 接线员 (operator)

More examples

接线员今天轮班，负责上午的电话。jiē xiàn yuán jīn tiān lún bān fù zé shàng wǔ de diàn huà

The operator is on duty today and handles the morning calls.

Core concept

Stands between an incoming call and its destination, deciding where the call should go.

Common phrases

  • 接线员接听电话jiē xiàn yuán jiē tīng diàn huà

    operator answer the phone

  • 前台接线员qián tái jiē xiàn yuán

    front-desk operator

  • 热线接线员rè xiàn jiē xiàn yuán

    hotline operator

Similar words

话务员huà wù yuán: Provides telephone service by answering calls and connecting them to the right place.
客服kè fú: Deals with customer questions and requests through phone calls or messages.

Definition in Chinese

原指电话总机处手动接通线路的人员，现多指在公司或呼叫中心负责接听、判断并转接来电的工作人员。yuán zhǐ diàn huà zǒng jī chù shǒu dòng jiē tōng xiàn lù de rén yuán xiàn duō zhǐ zài gōng sī huò hū jiào zhōng xīn fù zé jiē tīng pàn duàn bìng zhuǎn jiē lái diàn de gōng zuò rén yuán

Word origin

接线员 (jiēxiànyuán, "operator") combines 接 (jiē, "connect") + 线 (xiàn, "line") + 员 (yuán, "person"), and the name later broadened from manual switching to general call handling.

Usage tips

  • The role appears in both private companies and public telephone services, so the word is not limited to a company's front desk.

Opposites

  • 自动语音应答zì dòng yǔ yīn yìng dáautomated voice responsenoun

Related words

  • 接线jiē xiànconnect a callverb

Word lists with this word