dǎ diàn huà
to make a telephone call
我打电话给我的朋友。
wǒ dǎ diànhuà gěi wǒ de péngyou.
I call my friend.
他打电话给我。
tā dǎ diànhuà gěi wǒ.
He calls me.
我们打电话给老师。
wǒmen dǎ diànhuà gěi lǎoshī.
We call the teacher.
拨电话 (bō diànhuà)
make a phone call
通电话 (tōng diànhuà)
have a phone conversation
打电话 (dǎ diànhuà)
call someone on the phone
接电话 (jiē diànhuà)
answer the phone
挂电话 (guà diànhuà)
hang up the phone
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The Chinese word 打电话 (dǎ diànhuà) for "to make a phone call" is composed of two characters: 打 (dǎ) and 电话 (diànhuà). The character 打 (dǎ) means "to hit" or "to strike", and is often used in the context of using a tool or instrument. In the case of 打电话, it refers to the action of pressing the buttons on a telephone to dial a number. The character 电话 (diànhuà) is a combination of two characters: 电 (diàn), meaning "electricity", and 话 (huà), meaning "speech" or "language". Together, 电话 literally means "electric speech" or "electric talk", referring to the technology of transmitting speech over electrical wires. Therefore, the term 打电话 can be understood as "to hit the electric speech", which accurately describes the action of making a phone call.
