(dǎ diàn huà) - to make a phone call, to call in Mandarin
dǎdiànhuàTraditional: 打電話
Translation
to make a phone call, to call
Word origin
The phrase 打电话 combines 打 'to hit, to perform an action' with 电话 'telephone' (电 'electricity' + 话 'speech'), literally 'to do the telephone', meaning to make a call. 电 originally depicted lightning; 话 has the 言 (speech) radical.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 打 (dǎ, to do) + 电 (diàn, electricity) + 话 (huà, speech)
Stroke order
打
电
话
Examples
。
I'll call you.
。
He is on the phone.
。
Please give me a call.
。
I will phone you after work.
。
She is on the phone right now.
打电话 (dǎ diàn huà) - to make a phone call, to call.
Used in
Grammar articles
(5)Mandarin Co-verbs: 从, 到, 在, 用, 坐, 给 - the Prepositions That Look Like Verbs
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
Duration Complements in Mandarin (时量补语): How to Say How Long an Action Lasts
The Mandarin Durative 着 (zhe): Marking a State That Continues (门开着, 拿着书, 笑着说)
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
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