Simplified Chinese - Phone Messages

我打电话是关于___的。

Wǒ dǎ diànhuà shì guānyú ___ de.

I'm calling about ___.

Meaning: I'm calling about ___.

When to use: Use this to say the reason for your call (e.g., a meeting, a package, a question).

Tip: Beginners sometimes drop the final 的 (de). Keep 的 to make the sentence sound complete.

___什么时候回来？

___ shénme shíhou huílái?

When will ___ be back?

Meaning: When will ___ be back?

When to use: Ask this when you want to know when a person (name or role) will return or be available.

请稍等一下

Qǐng shāo děng yíxià.

Please hold for a moment.

Meaning: Please hold for a moment.

When to use: Say this politely when you need the caller to wait (e.g., to check, transfer, or put someone on).

你听得到我说话吗？

Nǐ tīng de dào wǒ shuōhuà ma?

Can you hear me?

Meaning: Can you hear me?

When to use: Use this to check sound on a phone or video call when audio is unclear.

Tip: Learners sometimes say 听得见吗？(tīng de jiàn ma) which is more casual; both are fine but 听得到我说话吗？ is clearer on the phone.

信号不太好

Xìnhào bú tài hǎo.

The line is bad.

Meaning: The line is bad.

When to use: Say this when the mobile signal or connection is weak during a call.

Tip: For landlines some learners say 线路不太好; that's okay, but 信号不太好 is most common for mobiles.

我没接到你的电话。

Wǒ méi jiē dào nǐ de diànhuà.

I missed your call.

Meaning: I missed your call.

When to use: Use this when you are replying after seeing a missed call and returning the call.

我收到你的留言了。

Wǒ shōu dào nǐ de liúyán le.

I got your message.

Meaning: I got your message.

When to use: Say this to confirm you received a voicemail or someone passed along a message.

我会把留言转告给___。

Wǒ huì bǎ liúyán zhuǎngào gěi ___.

I'll give ___ the message.

Meaning: I'll give ___ the message.

When to use: Use this to promise you'll pass a caller's message to a named person.

请在提示音后留言。

Qǐng zài tíshìyīn hòu liúyán.

Please leave a message after the beep.

Meaning: Please leave a message after the beep.

When to use: Use this as a voicemail instruction when the caller should leave details after the tone.