22

Telecommunications and e-communications: telephones, the internet, beepers, and faxes

Telecommunications and e-communications play a major role in communication in China. This chapter presents expressions associated with the use of these technologies.

22.1Sending and receiving phone calls, faxes, email, and beeper messages

22.1.1Telephone and mobile phone/cell phone

(someone) / (someone) gli (someone) dK diànhuà

make a phone call to someone ( )= !"# ( )= !"#

(Qmng) gli wn dK diànhuà.

(Please) call me.

!"#$!"#$

Qmng dK wn de shnujr.

Please call my mobile.

/ jiQ diànhuà

receive a phone call

!"#!"#

Méi rén jiQ diànhuà

No one is answering the phone.

	or	!
		!
fP duknxìn	fP dukn xipoxi

send a text message

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND E-COMMUNICATIONS		22.1
	!"#$%
	!"#$%
Wn gli nm fp le duknxìn.
I sent you a text message.

	or	!
shSu duknxìn		shSu dukn xipoxi
receive a text message
	!"#$%

Wn shsu le nm de duknxìn.

I received your text message.

22.1.2Fax

/ fP chuán zhqn send a fax

/ shSu chuánzhqn receive a fax

!"#$%&'"()*+&!"#$%&'"()*+&

Wn méi shSudào nm de chuánzhqn. Qmng nm chóng fP yrcì.

I didn’t receive your fax. Please transmit again.

22.1.3	Email
/		or ( ) /( )
	diànzm xìn	(diànzm) yóujiàn
	email	email
!		or !"
!		!"
	fP diànzm xìn	sòng diànzm yóujiàn
	send an email	send an email

!"/ !" jiQ diànzm yóujiàn receive an email

! tiPnjiP fùjip jiàn add an attachment

!/ ! dKkPi fù jiàn

open an attachment

22.1.4	Beeper
	/ or	/	or BB /BB=
	ht jr	xún ht jr	BB jr
	beeper	beeper	beeper

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Telephone etiquette			22.4
( )	or
( )
(Qmng) ht wn.		Kòu wn.
(Please) beep me.		(from English ‘call me’)

22.2Dialing a number and entering a number

!"/ !" bs diànhuà hàomk dial a phone number

!"#$%&'()‘ ’!"#$%&'()‘ ’

Zài nm gpng bs de diànhuà hàomk qián qmng jip ‘líng’.

Please add ‘zero’ in front of the telephone number that you just dialed.

!/ ! shtrù hàomk

enter a phone number

!"#$%&'!"#$%&'

Qmng shtrù nm de kèhù hàomk.

Please enter your customer (account) number.

22.3Using the internet

Basic vocabulary

/	( ) /( )
wàn wéi wkng	(shìjiè) wkng lù
internet	internet
/	/
yrn tè wkng	hùlián wkng
internet	internet
/	/
wkng zhàn	wkng yè
website	webpage
!/ !	/
wknglù zhupnjip	wkng bp
webmaster	internet cafe
( )/ ( )
shàng wkng (lù)
surf the web

22.4Telephone etiquette

Telephone calls are answered with the phrase:

Wèi? or Wéi?

Wèi? (in either tone) is the equivalent of ‘Hello’ in English.

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TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND E-COMMUNICATIONS

22.4

NOTE wèi can be used more broadly as an interjection to attract somebody’s attention. When used in answering a phone call, it is said in second or fourth tone. Second tone is more polite and more commonly used. Fourth tone conveys a sense of impatience.

Increasingly, in the cities of China, the phrase used to answer a phone call is:

!"

Wéi? Nm hko.

Hello. How are you?

To ask to speak to someone say:

( ) ( )

(Zhpng lkoshr) zài ma?

Is (Professor Zhang) in?

or

( ) !"( ) !"

Wn zhko (Zhpng lkoshr). Tp zài ma?

I’m looking for (Professor Zhang). Is she in? If the party in question is not in, say:

( )=

(Tp) bù zài.

(She) is not in.

If you wish to leave a message say:

!"

Wn yào liú yán.

I’d like to leave a message.

To arrange to get together with someone by phone say:

!"#!"#

Wnmen tsng diànhuà.

Let’s be in touch by phone.

To describe problems reaching someone by phone say:

( ) !

(Wn) dkbutsng.

(I am) unable to get through.

!"!"

Xiànzài zhàn xiàn.

The line is busy.

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Writing and reciting phone numbers, fax numbers, and beeper numbers

22.5

22.5Writing and reciting phone numbers, fax numbers, and beeper numbers

Phone, fax, and beeper numbers are recited as a list of single digits. In mainland China, when reciting numbers, the number 1 ( ) is pronounced ypo. In Taiwan it is pronounced yr. Phone, fax, and beeper numbers are typically written with Arabic numerals and not with Chinese characters.

Sample numbers

Phone, fax, beeper
6	5	2 7 – 3			3	7	8
liù wo èr qr			spn spn qr bp
Cell phone
1	3	5	5	7	6	7	6	6	6	6

yr spn wo wo qr liù qr liù liù liù liù or

ypo spn wo wo qr liù qr liù liù liù liù

Í6.1.1

NOTE Phone numbers that include the numerals 6 or 8 are considered particularly good and lucky. Those with the numeral 4 are less desirable. In mainland China, cellphone customers select and purchase their numbers from a list. Those with 6s and 8s are more expensive. Those with 4s are less expensive.

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