cell phone; mobile phone
HSK level
手机 is written with 10 strokes (手: 4, 机: 6). The animation replays automatically.
手机 (shǒujī) is the standard Chinese word for a mobile phone — literally 'hand-machine.'
It replaced the older 大哥大 (dàgēdà, 'big brother' for 1990s brick phones) and is now the universal term covering everything from feature phones to the latest 智能手机 (zhìnéng shǒujī, 'smart phone'). In China, 手机 is the central device of daily life: payments (微信支付, 支付宝), ID, transport, and messaging all run on it, far more than in many Western countries. Common verbs that pair with it: 用 (use), 玩 (play with — also means scroll), 看 (look at), 充电 (charge).
The number itself is 手机号 or 手机号码 (shǒujī hàomǎ). To call someone, use 打电话 (dǎ diànhuà), not 打手机. Don't confuse the device 手机 with the action of calling, 打电话.
Character by character
Memory hook: A 'machine' (机) you hold in your 'hand' (手) — a cell phone.
手机 appears in 7 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
我的手机没电了。
Wǒ de shǒujī méi diàn le.
My phone is out of battery.
spoken
你的手机号是多少？
Nǐ de shǒujī hào shì duōshao?
What's your cell phone number?
neutral
他一直在玩手机。
Tā yìzhí zài wán shǒujī.
He's been on his phone the whole time.
spoken
我想买一个新手机。
Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yí ge xīn shǒujī.
I want to buy a new phone.
neutral
上课的时候不要看手机。
Shàng kè de shíhou bú yào kàn shǒujī.
Don't look at your phone during class.
neutral
电话 is 'telephone' in the broad sense — it can mean a landline, the phone call itself (打电话 'to make a call'), or the abstract idea of phone communication. 手机 is specifically the mobile device. Use 手机 for the physical phone, 电话 for the action of calling.
Literal 'mobile phone' — formal/technical term used in contracts, telecom documents, or news. 手机 is the everyday word; nobody says 移动电话 in conversation.
Acquire it by listening
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