EP23 打电话 Make a phone call

EP23 打电话 Make a phone call

Make a phone call in Chinese

How to be polite on the phone

Part I Chinese 101

Dialogue:

A:喂?您好,请问您找谁?

wéi?nín hǎo ,qǐng wèn nín zhǎo shuí?

Hello? May I help you?

B:张经理在吗?

zhāng jīng lǐ zài ma ?

May I speak to Mr. Zhang?

A:您先别挂,我去看一下。

nín xiān bié guà ,wǒ qù kàn yī xià 。

Please hang on, let me have a look.

(...after a while)

A:他现在很忙,稍候给您回电。

tā xiàn zài hěn máng ,shāo hòu gěi nín huí diàn 。

He’s busy right now, later he’ll call you back.

B:没问题,谢谢。

méi wèn tí ,xiè xiè 。

No problem, thank you.

Words & Expressions:

【喂】wéi / wèi:Hi, hello, feed

【找】zhǎo: v. look for; find

【谁】shuí: whom, who

【经理】jīng lǐ:manager

【先】xiān: first; before; late; earlier

【别】bié: don’t

【挂】guà: hang

【稍候】shāo hòu

【给】gěi: give, to, for

【回电】huí diàn: call back

【问题】wèn tí: problem

Part II Language Tips

• Why Chinese use "打" before a phone call

• How to be polite on the phone

Part III Story of The Day

画龙点睛

huà lóng diǎn jīng

To Give the Final Touches

Chinese people use the phrase 画龙点睛 to describe Zhang Sengyao, a famous painter, who has superb skills.

Literal meaning: To bring the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes

Explanation: giving the finishing or final touches in order to make the creative works more attractive

E.g

一个好题目,常常对作品有画龙点睛的作用.

yī gè hǎo tí mù ,cháng cháng duì zuò pǐn yǒu huà lóng diǎn jīng de zuò yòng .

A good title could give the final touches to the whole work.