电话 (diànhuà) — telephone / phone call

电话 (diànhuà)

A noun meaning telephone or phone call. It combines 电 (electricity) and 话 (speech, words). In modern Chinese, 电话 most often refers to the act of calling or a phone call, rather than the physical device. For the device in your pocket, use 手机 (shǒujī). The phrase 打电话 (make a phone call) is extremely common.

Meanings

1. [noun] Telephone, phone (especially landline).
2. [noun] Phone call.

Example Sentences

我给他打了一个电话，但他没接。 Wǒ gěi tā dǎle yīgè diànhuà, dàn tā méi jiē. I gave him a phone call, but he did not pick up.

你的电话号码是多少？ Nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao? What is your phone number?

她正在打电话，等一下再说。 Tā zhèngzài dǎ diànhuà, děng yīxià zài shuō. She is on a phone call right now, let us talk in a moment.

家里有一部电话，但我们都用手机。 Jiā lǐ yǒu yī bù diànhuà, dàn wǒmen dōu yòng shǒujī. There is a landline at home, but we all use mobile phones.

Collocations

Memory Hook

电 (electricity) plus 话 (speech): electricity carrying your words. That is what a telephone does. Compare with 手机 (hand machine), which is the physical device you carry.