Essential Phrases for Phone Conversations in Chinese: Communicate Effectively
Essential phrases for Chinese phone conversations.
Here are essential phrases used in Chinese phone conversations, organized by common phone call scenarios:
Answering the Phone
- 喂？ (Wéi?) — “Hello?” (used when picking up the phone)
- 喂？您哪位？(Wéi? Nín nǎ wèi?) — “Hello? Who is this?”
- 你好 / 您好 (Nǐ hǎo / Nín hǎo) — “Hi” (informal/formal)
Asking Who is Calling
- 请问您是哪位？(Qǐng wèn nín shì nǎ wèi?) — “May I ask who is calling?”
- 请问哪位？(Qǐng wèn nǎ wèi?) — “Who’s speaking?”
Explaining Your Reason for Calling
- 我想跟[名字]讲一下关于……的事。(Wǒ xiǎng gēn [míng zì] jiǎng yī xià guān yú …de shì.) — “I’d like to speak to someone about…”
- 我是打电话来预约……的。(Wǒ shì dǎ diàn huà lái yù yuē …de.) — “I’m calling to make a reservation for…”
Asking to Speak to Someone
- 请问[名字]在吗？(Qǐng wèn [míng zì] zài ma?) — “Is [name] there?”
- 可以让[名字]来接一下电话吗？(Kě yǐ ràng [míng zì] lái jiē yī xià diàn huà ma?) — “May I speak to [name]?”
Asking Someone to Wait
- 稍等，我去看一下。(Shāo děng, wǒ qù kàn yī xià.) — “Wait a moment, let me check.”
- 请您在线稍候。(Qǐng nín zài xiàn shāo hòu.) — “Please hold on a moment.”
- 我会为您连线他的办公室电话，请在线等候。(Wǒ huì wéi nín lián xiàn tā de bàn gōng shì diàn huà, qǐng zài xiàn děng hòu.) — “I will transfer you to his office. Please hold the line.”
Other Useful Phrases
- 你打错电话了。(Nǐ dǎ cuò diàn huà le.) — “You have the wrong number.”
- 请稍等。(Qǐng shāo děng.) — “Please wait a moment.”
- 你需要留言吗？(Nǐ xū yào liú yán ma?) — “Would you like to leave a message?”
- 谢谢你的来电，拜拜！(Xiè xiè nǐ de lái diàn, bàibài!) — “Thank you for calling, bye!”
These essential phrases cover greetings, identifying callers, explaining reasons, requesting to speak to someone, asking callers to wait, and polite closings for Chinese phone conversations.