For beginners with limited speaking and listening skills, answering the phone in Chinese can be a scary thing. 

While phones allow us to communicate across great distances, they do have their drawbacks. For example, you cannot read body language or see changes in facial expression when talking on the phone with someone. 

These inconveniences can make it even more difficult for you to come up with the right Chinese phone conversation phrases when you need them. 

If this is something you’re worried about, this guide will be your savior. 

There’s a very limited number of Chinese phone phrases you’ll need to learn. As long as you put in the effort, you’ll start seeing improvements before you know it. 

In this perfect collection of phone phrases in Chinese, we’ll teach you how to answer the phone, how to properly end a phone conversation, and everything in between.

Once you pick up these formulas, you’ll be prepared to pick up your phone with great confidence whenever a ringtone strikes. 😉

Table of Contents

1. Picking up the Phone
2. Communicating in Business Contexts
3. Explaining Your Reason for the Call
4. Asking to Speak to Someone
5. Asking Someone to Wait
6. Leaving a Message
7. Asking for Clarification
8. Ending the Phone Call
9. Other Occasions
10. Sample Phone Conversations
11. Conclusion

1. Picking up the Phone

There are a few different ways you could answer the phone in Chinese, each with its own nuance. Take a look: 

#1

In Chinese: 喂？
Pinyin: Wéi?
In English: “Hello?”

This is a special phrase that Chinese people say when picking up the phone, though some people think it’s disrespectful. It sounds more respectful when we use it together with other expressions. For example, we can say: 

喂？您哪位？
(Wéi? Nín nǎ wèi?) 
“Hello? Who is this?”

Or: 

喂？您好。
(Wéi? Nín hǎo.)
 “Hello.” 

#2

In Chinese: 你好。(Informal) / 您好。(Formal)
Pinyin: Nǐ hǎo. / Nín hǎo.
In English: “Hi.”

您 is for elders or people you want to show respect to; 你 is typically used toward friends and younger people.

#3

In Chinese: 请问您哪位？
Pinyin: Qǐng wèn nín nǎ wèi?
In English: “Who is this?”

#4

In Chinese: 你/您打错电话了。
Pinyin: Nǐ/Nín dǎ cuò diàn huà le. 
In English: “You’ve got the wrong number.”

2. Communicating in Business Contexts

Show your professionalism next time you answer the phone.

#5

In Chinese: 这里是[公司名字], 很高兴为您服务。
Pinyin: Zhè lǐ shì [gōng sī míng zì], hěn gāo xìng wéi nín fú wù. 
In English: “It’s [Company Name], I’m very happy to assist you.”

#6

In Chinese: 希望能尽快听到您的回复。
Pinyin: Xī wàng néng jìn kuài tīng dào nín de huí fù. 
In English: “I hope to hear from you soon.”

3. Explaining Your Reason for the Call

When making a phone call in Chinese, you should know how to explain your reason for calling. Here are a few sentence patterns you could use: 

#7

In Chinese: 我想跟[名字]讲一下关于……的事。
Pinyin: Wǒ xiǎng gēn [míng zì] jiǎng yī xià guān yú …de shì.
In English: “I’d like to speak to someone about…”

#8

In Chinese: 抱歉，刚才没来得及接你电话。
Pinyin: Bào qiàn, gāng cái méi lái de jí jiē nǐ diàn huà. 
In English: “Sorry, I wasn’t able to answer your call.”

#9

In Chinese: 我是打电话来预约……的。
Pinyin: Wǒ shì dǎ diàn huà lái yù yuē …de. 
In English: “I’m calling to make a reservation for…”

4. Asking to Speak to Someone

Phone calls are a great way to connect.

#10

In Chinese: 请问[名字]在吗？
Pinyin: Qǐng wèn [míng zì] zài ma? 
In English: “Is [name] there to answer the phone?”

#11

In Chinese: 可以让[名字]来接一下电话吗？
Pinyin: Kě yǐ ràng [míng zì] lái jiē yī xià diàn huà ma? 
In English: “May I speak to [name]?”

5. Asking Someone to Wait

Especially in formal or business contexts, it’s common to keep someone on the line while you transfer them or find out information. Here are some useful Chinese phone call phrases you can use to politely ask the other party to wait: 

#12

In Chinese: 稍等，我去看一下。
Pinyin: Shāo děng, wǒ qù kàn yī xià. 
In English: “Wait a moment, let me check.”

#13

In Chinese: 请您在线稍候。
Pinyin: Qǐng nín zài xiàn shāo hòu. 
In English: “I will put you on hold for a second.”

#14

In Chinese: 我会为您连线他的办公室电话，请在线等候。
Pinyin: Wǒ huì wéi nín lián xiàn tā de bàn gōng shì diàn huà, qǐng zài xiàn děng hòu. 
In English: “Let me transfer you to his office. Stay on the line, please.”

6. Leaving a Message

Sometimes, the person we’re trying to reach is not available. In situations like this, the person we’re speaking to may offer to relay a message for us. Here are some key phrases: 

#15

In Chinese: 请转告他
Pinyin: Qǐng zhuǎn gào tā
In English: “Please let him know that…”

#16

In Chinese: 我可以留言吗？
Pinyin: Wǒ kě yǐ liú yán ma? 
In English: “Can I leave a message?”

#17

In Chinese: 可以麻烦你告诉他给这个号码回个电话吗？
Pinyin: Kě yǐ má fán nǐ gào sù tā gěi zhè gè hào mǎ huí gè diàn huà ma? 
In English: “Can you tell him to call me back at this number?”

7. Asking for Clarification

Sometimes, asking for clarification is necessary during a phone call. Never feel embarrassed to ask!

As a non-native speaker of the language, every time you make a phone call in Chinese you run the risk of not understanding everything you hear. But this is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about! Below are some phrases you can use to ask for clarification when needed. 

#18

In Chinese: 抱歉，能麻烦你再说一遍吗？
Pinyin: Bào qiàn, néng má fán nǐ zài shuō yī biàn ma? 
In English: “Sorry, could you say that again?”

#19

In Chinese: 您的名字怎么写？
Pinyin: Nín de míng zì zěn me xiě? 
In English: “Could you spell your name for me, please?”

#20

In Chinese: 我想再确认一下
Pinyin: Wǒ xiǎng zài què rèn yī xià 
In English: “Just to double check…”

#21

In Chinese: 抱歉，我网络信号不太好。这边听不太清。
Pinyin: Bào qiàn, wǒ wǎng luò xìn hào bú tài hǎo, zhè biān tīng bú tài qīng. 
In English: “I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time hearing you. I think my connection is bad.”

#22

In Chinese: 可以麻烦你说慢一点吗？
Pinyin: Kě yǐ má fán nǐ shuō màn yī diǎn ma? 
In English: “Can you please speak slower?”

8. Ending the Phone Call

Hope you can always end the phone call with a smile!

When learning how to make Chinese phone calls, you can’t forget to study the appropriate ending phrases. Here are a few examples for you: 

#23

In Chinese: 请问您有其他需要帮助的吗？
Pinyin: Qǐng wèn nín yǒu qí tā xū yào bāng zhù de ma? 
In English: “Anything else I can help you with?”

#24

In Chinese: 谢谢你的帮助。
Pinyin: Xiè xie nǐ de bāng zhù.
In English: “Thank you for your help.”

#25

In Chinese: 回头聊。
Pinyin: Huí tóu liáo. 
In English: “Talk to you later.”

#26

In Chinese: 祝您拥有愉快的一天。
Pinyin: Zhù nín yōng yǒu yú kuài de yī tiān.
In English: “Have a great day.”

#27

In Chinese: 回头有时间再聊。
Pinyin: Huí tóu yǒu shí jiān zài liáo. 
In English: “Talk to you later when you are free.”

#28

In Chinese: 感谢你的致电，再见。
Pinyin: Gǎn xiè nǐ de zhì diàn, zài jiàn. 
In English: “Thank you for calling, goodbye.”

#29

In Chinese: 那我挂电话了，拜拜。
Pinyin: Nà wǒ guà diàn huà le, bái bái. 
In English: “Then I will hang up, bye-bye.”

9. Other Occasions

#30

In Chinese: 这个电话号码打不通。
Pinyin: Zhè gè diàn huà hào mǎ dǎ bu tōng. 
In English: “This phone number doesn’t work.”

#31

In Chinese: 他不接电话。
Pinyin: Tā bù jiē diàn huà.
In English: “He’s not picking it up.”

#32

In Chinese: 请问能借用一下电话吗？
Pinyin: Qǐng wèn néng jiè yòng yī xià diàn huà ma？
In English: “Can I please borrow your phone for a second?”

10. Sample Phone Conversations

It’s good to call your old friends to ask for a reunion once in a while.

Finally, let’s look at two sample Chinese phone call conversations. Below, you’ll find one informal dialogue and one formal dialogue. 

Scenario #1: 

Informal phone conversation: Two friends are setting up a time to meet for dinner on a weekend.

A: “Hey, how are you?”
嘿，最近怎么样啊 ？(Hei, zuì jìn zěn me yàng a?)

B：”Same old. How about you?”
还是老样子。你呢？(Hái shì lǎo yàng zi. Nǐ ne?)

A: “I’m pretty good. Are you free any day soon? Let’s dine out.”
我挺好的。最近有时间吗，咱们一起吃个饭吧？(Wǒ tǐng hǎo de. Zuì jìn yǒu shí jiān ma, zán men yī qǐ chī gè fàn ba?)

B: “Sure. But I’m a bit busy this week, I have a test coming up.”
好啊。不过我这周有点忙，有个考试。 (Hǎo a. Bú guò wǒ zhè zhōu yǒu diǎn máng, yǒu gè kǎo shì.)

A: “How about next week?”
下周怎么样？(Xià zhōu zěn me yàng?)

B: “No problem. I’m pretty free next week.”
没问题。我下周有空。(Méi wèn tí. Wǒ xià zhōu yǒu kōng.)

A: “How about lunch?”
一起吃午饭怎么样？(Yī qǐ chī wǔ fàn zěn me yàng?)

B: “Dinner is better for me.”
晚餐时间可能更好一些。(Wǎn cān shí jiān kě néng gèng hǎo yī xiē.)

A: “Sounds good. What date and time?”
那好。什么时候？(Nà hǎo. Shén me shí hòu?)

B: “How about Saturday at six p.m.?”
下午六点可以吗？(Xià wǔ liù diǎn kě yǐ ma?)

A: “That works for me. I will see you at the old place where we always ate then?”
我可以。那咱们老地方见？(Wǒ kě yǐ. Nà zán men lǎo dì fang jiàn?)

B: “Deal. See you there at six p.m. next Saturday.”
成。那就下周六下午六点老地方见。(Chéng. nà jiù xià zhōu liù xià wǔ liù diǎn lǎo dì fang jiàn.)

Scenario #2:

Formal phone conversation: After they’ve set the time and place, one of the friends calls the restaurant to reserve a table. 

A: “Hi, is this Restaurant C?”
你好。请问这里是餐馆C吗？(Nǐ hǎo. Qǐng wèn zhè lǐ shì cān guǎn C ma?)

Restaurant Employee: “Yes. Is there anything I can help you with?”
是的。请问您有什么需要帮助的吗？(Shì de. qǐng wèn nín yǒu shén me xū yào bāng zhù de ma?)

A: “I would like to make a reservation next Saturday at six p.m.”
我想订一下下周六下午六点的餐位。(Wǒ xiǎng dìng yī xià xià zhōu liù xià wǔ liù diǎn de cān wèi.)

Restaurant Employee: “May I know how many people are attending, please?”
请问会有多少人到场呢？(Qǐng wèn huì yǒu duō shǎo rén dào chǎng ne?)

A: “Just two people.”
就两个人。(Jiù liǎng gè rén.)

Restaurant Employee: “Next Saturday at six p.m. for two people. You got it.”
下周六下午六点两个人的餐位预订。没问题。(Xià zhōu liù xià wǔ liù diǎn liǎng gè rén de cān wèi yù dìng. Méi wèn tí. )

A: “Thank you so much.”
非常感谢。(Fēi cháng gǎn xiè.)

Restaurant Employee: “You are welcome. We look forward to seeing you here at Restaurant C then. Goodbye.”
客气了。期待在餐厅C见到您。再见。(Kè qì le. Qī dài zài cān tīng Cjiàn dào nín. Zài jiàn.)

A: “Sure. Bye.”
好的。再见。(Hǎo de. Zài jiàn.)

11. Conclusion

See? Talking on the phone in Chinese wouldn’t be so hard, would it? If you ever plan to actually go to China, save this guide and it will save you some valuable time. 

Chinese phone conversation phrases are one of the basic things you need to learn as a beginner. Once you master this skill—congratulations! You’re one step closer to mastering the language as a whole. 

If there are any other phone phrases in Chinese you would like to know, please share them with us in the comments below. A curious mind is always more likely to succeed!

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