diàn huà
phone
我有一个电话。
wǒ yǒu yī gè diàn huà.
I have a phone.
我正在打电话。
wǒ zhèng zài dǎ diàn huà.
I am making a phone call.
我接到了一个电话。
wǒ jiē dào le yī gè diàn huà.
I received a phone call.
电话机 (diànhuàjī)
telephone set
手机 (shǒujī)
mobile phone
座机 (zuòjī)
landline telephone
信件 (xìnjiàn)
letter
电报 (diànbào)
telegram
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The Chinese word 电话 (diànhuà) for "telephone" is a compound of two characters: 电 (diàn), meaning "electricity," and 话 (huà), meaning "speech" or "language." The term "diànhuà" was coined in the late 19th century to describe the new technology of the telephone, which allowed for the transmission of speech over a distance using electrical signals. The character 电 (diàn) was chosen to represent the electrical nature of the telephone, while the character 话 (huà) was chosen to represent the fact that the telephone was used for communication. The term "diànhuà" has been used in Chinese ever since to refer to the telephone.
