Learn how to give your phone number
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| Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to give your phone number in Chinese. |
| For example, "My phone number is 012 3456 7890." is |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| Anna Xu is at the city hall registering her address. |
| A civil servant is asking for her phone number. |
| Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components. |
| 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ) |
| ”phone number" |
| 电话号码 |
| 电话号码 |
| Listen to the conversation, and focus on the response. |
| Ready? |
| 您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?) |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| 您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?) |
| "What is your phone number?" |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| "My phone number is 012 3456 7890." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how the civil servant asks, |
| "What is your phone number?" |
| 您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?) |
| First is 您的 (nín de), "your." 您的. |
| This starts with 您 (nín), "you" when using formal Chinese. 您 . 您. |
| 您 is often used to show respect to people, such as seniors or customers. 您. |
| Now, you might be more familiar with 你 (nǐ), meaning "you." 你 (nǐ). As this is a city office setting, the speaker chooses to use the more formal 您 (nín). |
| Next is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的 . 的. |
| Think of 的 as a way to indicate possession. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks 您, "you," as the possessor. |
| Together, it's 您的, a formal way to say "your." 您的. |
| Next is 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ), "phone number." 电话号码. |
| There are two parts to this. |
| 电话 (diànhuà). "Phone."电话 . 电话. |
| 号码 (hàomǎ). "Number."号码 . 号码. |
| Together, it's 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ). "Phone number." 电话号码. |
| Remember this because you'll see it again in Anna's response. |
| Next is 是 (shì). In this case, it’s like the "is" in "What is your phone number?" 是 . 是. |
| After this is 多少 (duōshǎo), “what.” 多少 . 多少. |
| 多少 (duōshǎo) literally means "a lot, a little." It’s used to ask about quantities or numbers, and it usually translates as “how many.” As a phone number is a set of numbers, 多少 is used in the question. Here, however, it translates as “what” in the question, “What is your phone number?” |
| All together, it's 您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?) This literally means, "Your phone number is how many?" but it translates as "What is your phone number?" |
| 您的电话号码是多少？ |
| Remember this request. You'll hear it again later. |
| Let’s take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Anna says, |
| "My phone number is 012 3456 7890." |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| First is 我的 (Wǒ de), "my." 我的. |
| This starts with 我 (Wǒ), "I." 我 . 我. |
| After this is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的. |
| Together, it's 我的, "my." 我的. |
| Next, do you remember the word for "phone number"? |
| 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ), "phone number." 电话号码。 |
| Together, 我的电话号码 (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ) "my phone number." 我的电话号码. |
| Next is 是 (shì), "is.” Here, it's like the "is" in "My phone number is..." 是 . 是. |
| Next is Anna's phone number, 012 3456 7890 (in Chinese). 012 3456 7890 (in Chinese). |
| The number "one" is pronounced (yāo) instead of (yī) in this dialogue. |
| This is often the case when giving phone numbers. The reason? The pronunciation of the number one (yī) is similar to the pronunciation of the number seven (qī). This could be confusing, especially if you’re talking over the phone or speaking quickly. |
| All together, it’s 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.)。 "My phone number is 123 4567 8910." |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| The pattern is |
| 我的电话号码是 {phone number}. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì) {phone number}. |
| "My phone number is {phone number}." |
| 我的电话号码是 {phone number}. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the {phone number} placeholder with your phone number. |
| Imagine your phone number is 111 2233 2233 (in Chinese, slow version). 111 2233 2233 (in Chinese). |
| Say |
| "My phone number is 111 2233 2233." |
| Ready? |
| 我的电话号码是 111 2233 2233. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì yāo yāo yāo, èr èr sān sān, èr èr sān sān.) |
| "My phone number is 111 2233 2233." |
| 我的电话号码是 111 2233 2233. |
| In China, cell phone numbers are often written without hyphens or spaces between the digits. When speaking, however, the digits are often grouped in the following format: three digits, four digits, and four digits, with pauses in between. |
| For example, |
| 123 [pause] 4567 [pause] 8910. |
| For landline numbers, such as for office and home phones, a hyphen is often put after the area code. When giving an office or home number, simply pause in place of the hyphen. |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| 我的电话号码是 {phone number}. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì) {phone number}. |
| "My phone number is {phone number}." |
| 我的电话号码是 {phone number}. |
| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。 (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| “My phone number is 012 3456 7890.” |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。 |
| 我的电话号码是 030 1212 3434. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng sān líng, yāo èr yāo èr sān sì sān sì.) |
| “My phone number is 030 1212 3434.” |
| 我的电话号码是 030 1212 3434. |
| 我的电话号码是 111 5678 5578. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì yāo yāo yāo, wǔ wǔ qī bā, wǔ wǔ qī bā.) |
| “My phone number is 111 5578 5578” |
| 我的电话号码是 111 5578 5578. |
| 我的电话号码是 9876-5432 5432. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì jiǔ bā qī liù, wǔ sì sān èr, wǔ sì sān èr.) |
| “My phone number is 9876-5432 5432.” |
| 我的电话号码是 9876-5432 5432 |
| 我的号码是 678-4455 7788. (Wǒ de hàomǎ shì liù qī bā, sì sì wǔ wǔ, qī qī bā bā.) |
| “My phone number is 678-4455 7788.” |
| 我的号码是 678-4455 7788. |
| Did you notice how the native speaker omitted 电话? |
| 我的号码是 678-4455 7788. |
| “My number is 678-4455 7788.” |
| When directly responding to a question, it’s often possible to omit part of the response. |
| Here by simply saying 号码, or “number,” there’s no need to include 电话, “phone.” |
| The pattern is |
| 我的号码是 {phone number}。(Wǒ de hàomǎ shì) {phone number}。 |
| "My number is {phone number}." |
| 我的号码是 {phone number}。 |
| This can be shortened even further: 678-4455 7788。 |
| Here by simply giving your phone number, there’s no need to say 我的电话号码是, "my phone number is." |
| You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we’ll use the pattern |
| 我的电话号码是 {phone number}. |
| "My phone number is {phone number}." |
| 我的电话号码是 {phone number}. |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "my"? |
| 我的 (Wǒ de) |
| 我的 (Wǒ de) |
| And how to say "phone number"? |
| 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ) |
| 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ) |
| Do you remember how to say |
| “My phone number is…” |
| 我的电话号码是。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì) |
| 我的电话号码是。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì) |
| Do you remember how Anna says, |
| "My phone number is 012 3456 7890." |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| 我的电话号码是 012 3456 7890。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, sān sì wǔ liù, qī bā jiǔ líng.) |
| Do you remember the formal way to say "your"? |
| 您的 (nín de) |
| 您的 (nín de) |
| And the formal way to say “your phone number"? |
| 您的电话号码 (Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ) |
| 您的电话号码 (Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ) |
| When asking about a phone number, do you remember how to say “what"? |
| 多少 (duōshǎo) |
| 多少 (duōshǎo) |
| Do you remember how the civil servant asks, |
| "What is your phone number?" |
| 您的电话号码是多少？ (Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?) |
| 您的电话号码是多少？ (Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?) |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you’re Xianwen Xu , and your phone number is 345 2020 2021 ( sān sì wǔ, èr líng èr líng, èr líng èr yāo). |
| Respond to the civil servant ’s request. |
| Ready? |
| 您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?) |
| 我的电话号码是 345 2020 2021。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì sān sì wǔ, èr líng èr líng, èr líng èr yāo.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 我的电话号码是 345 2020 2021。 |
| 我的电话号码是 345 2020 2021。 |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine you're Jiesen Xu , and your phone number is 012 23344 9521 (líng yāo èr, èr sān sān sì sì, jiǔ wǔ èr yāo). |
| Ready? |
| 您的电话号码是多少？ (Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?) |
| 我的电话号码是012 2344 9521。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì líng yāo èr, èr sān sì sì, jiǔ wǔ èr yāo.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 我的电话号码是012 2344 9521。 |
| 我的电话号码是012 2344 9521。 |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Lu Liu , and your phone number is 111 5678 5578 (yāo yāo yāo, wǔ wǔ qī bā, wǔ wǔ qī bā). |
| Ready? |
| 您的电话号码是多少？ (Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?) |
| 我的电话号码是 111 5578 5578。(Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì yāo yāo yāo wǔ wǔ qī bā wǔ wǔ qī bā.) |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| 我的电话号码是 111 5578 5578。 |
| 我的电话号码是 111 5578 5578。 |
| Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to give your phone number in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of sharing your contact information. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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