to make a phone call
HSK level
打电话 is written with 18 strokes (打: 5, 电: 5, 话: 8). The animation replays automatically.
打电话 (dǎ diànhuà) is the standard Mandarin verb phrase meaning 'to make a phone call.'
Literally 'hit/strike a phone-talk,' it pairs the all-purpose verb 打 (dǎ) — which in Chinese can mean 'to do, perform, make' for many small actions — with 电话 (diànhuà), 'phone / phone call.' Two things surprise English speakers: first, you don't 'call someone' directly in Chinese — you 给 (gěi) + person + 打电话, literally 'to-someone make-call,' as in 给我打电话 ('call me'); second, 打电话 covers the act of calling in general; to specify the recipient or topic, you add 给, 跟, or 和.
To answer the phone, use 接电话 (jiē diànhuà). To hang up, use 挂电话 (guà diànhuà).
Note: Works in any context — casual, professional, or written. To say who you're calling, add 给 + person: 给妈妈打电话 (call mom).
Character by character
Memory hook: Think of 打 as the universal 'do' verb — you 打 a call, 打 a taxi (打车), 打 a basketball game (打篮球). 打电话 = 'do an electric-talk.'
我给妈妈打电话。
Wǒ gěi māma dǎ diànhuà.
I'm calling mom.
spoken
请打电话给我。
Qǐng dǎ diànhuà gěi wǒ.
Please give me a call.
neutral, polite
他在打电话。
Tā zài dǎ diànhuà.
He's on the phone.
spoken
晚上我打个电话给你。
Wǎnshang wǒ dǎ ge diànhuà gěi nǐ.
I'll give you a call tonight.
spoken
通电话 emphasizes the connection or having a conversation by phone, often used in past-tense contexts: 我们通过电话 ('we've spoken by phone'). 打电话 is the act of making the call.
拨 specifically means 'to dial.' More technical and a bit dated now that nobody dials numbers manually. 打电话 is by far the more common everyday term.
接电话 means 'to answer / pick up the phone' — the other side of the conversation. 打 = make the call; 接 = receive it.
Same verb 打 but means 'to hail a taxi / ride-hail.' 打 is a very flexible verb in Chinese — context tells you what action it means.
Acquire it by listening
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