Chinese Conversation · Level 29
90 words
Chinese word
电话
Pronunciation
Pinyindiàn huà
Meaning
- nounphone
Example
我把电话放在包里了。wǒ bǎ diàn huà fàng zài bāo lǐ le
I put the phone in my bag.
More examples
他在和朋友打电话。tā zài hé péng yǒu dǎ diàn huà
He is talking on the phone with a friend.
Core concept
A voice connection represented by a device, a conversation, or the number used to reach it.
Common phrases
打电话dǎ diàn huà
make a phone call
挂电话guà diàn huà
hang up the phone
接电话jiē diàn huà
answer the phone
Similar words
手机shǒu jī: A small portable phone used for calls and messages.
电话号码diàn huà hào mǎ: A series of digits that identifies the person to reach by phone.
电话机diàn huà jī: A fixed telephone set used in a home or office.
Definition in Chinese
指用于发送或接收语音的电话装置，也可以指一次通话或电话号码。zhǐ yòng yú fā sòng huò jiē shōu yǔ yīn de diàn huà zhuāng zhì yě ké yǐ zhǐ yí cì tōng huà huò diàn huà hào mǎ
Word origin
电话 (diànhuà, "telephone") combines 电 (diàn, "electric") + 话 (huà, "speech") to name speech carried through an electrical communication device.
Usage tips
- English often separates the device, a call, and a number into different everyday nouns, while Chinese can use one word for all three, so context helps identify the intended meaning.
Other meanings
- phone numbernoun
Related words
- 电话机diàn huà jītelephone setnoun
- 电话费diàn huà fèiphone billnoun
- 电话号码diàn huà hào mǎphone numbernoun