EP23 打电话 Make a phone call

 Part I Chinese 101

 

Dialogue:

 

A:喂?您好,请问您找谁?

 

wéi?nín hǎo ,qǐng wèn nín zhǎo shuí?

 

Hello? May I help you?

 

B:张经理在吗?

 

zhāng jīng lǐ zài ma ?

 

May I speak to Mr. Zhang?

 

A:您先别挂,我去看一下。

 

nín xiān bié guà ,wǒ qù kàn yī xià 。

 

Please hang on, let me have a look.

 

(...after a while)

 

A:他现在很忙,稍候给您回电。

 

tā xiàn zài hěn máng ,shāo hòu gěi nín huí diàn 。

 

He’s busy right now, later he’ll call you back.

 

B:没问题,谢谢。

 

méi wèn tí ,xiè xiè 。

 

No problem, thank you.

 

Words & expressions:

 

【喂】wéi / wèi:Hi, hello, feed

 

【找】zhǎo: v. look for; find

 

【谁】shuí: whom, who

 

【经理】jīng lǐ:manager

 

【先】xiān: first; before; late; earlier

 

【别】bié: don’t

 

【挂】guà: hang

 

【稍候】shāo hòu

 

【给】gěi: give, to, for

 

【回电】huí diàn: call back

 

【问题】wèn tí: problem

 

Part II Language Tips

 

Why Chinese use "打" before a phone call

 

How to be polite on the phone

 

Part III Story of The Day

 

 

 

EP23 打电话 Make a phone call

 

画龙点睛

 

huà lóng diǎn jīng

 

To Give the Final Touches

 

Chinese people use the phrase 画龙点睛 to describe Zhang Sengyao, a famous painter, who has superb skills.

 

Literal meaning: To bring the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes

 

Explanation: giving the finishing or final touches in order to make the creative works more attractive

 

E.g

 

一个好题目,常常对作品有画龙点睛的作用.

 

yī gè hǎo tí mù ,cháng cháng duì zuò pǐn yǒu huà lóng diǎn jīng de zuò yòng .

 

A good title could give the final touches to the whole work.