Chinese

Noun

電話

1. telephone; phone

   當你不在的時候，電話響了。 [MSC, trad.]

   当你不在的时候，电话响了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Dāng nǐ bù zài de shíhou, diànhuà xiǎng le. [Pinyin]

   The phone rang when you weren't here.

2. telephone call

   我給你打電話。 / 我给你打电话。  ―  Wǒ gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà.  ―  I'll give you a call.

3. telephone number

   你的電話是多少？ / 你的电话是多少？  ―  Nǐ de diànhuà shì duōshào?  ―  What's your phone number?

Usage notes

Note that in Mandarin, the noun 電話／电话 (“telephone”) is used in any verb involving a phone, such as 打電話／打电话 (dǎdiànhuà, “to make a phone call”), 回電話／回电话 (huídiànhuà, “to call back”), 接電話／接电话 (jiēdiànhuà, “to answer the phone”), etc.

Derived terms

Descendants

• Lü: ᦶᦎᧃᧈᦧᦱᧈ ‎(ṫaen¹ẋvaa¹)

Japanese

Etymology

Wasei kango, from 電 ‎(den, “electric”) +‎ 話 ‎(wa, “conversation”). See also 話す ‎(hanasu).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) でんわ [dèńwá] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [dẽ̞nɰᵝa̠]

Noun

電話 ‎(hiragana でんわ, romaji denwa)

1. telephone

   電話 (でんわ)を引 (ひ)く

   denwa o hiku

   to install a telephone

   電話 (でんわ)に出 (で)る

   denwa ni deru

   to answer the phone

2. telephone call; phone call; call

   電話 (でんわ)を掛 (か)ける

   denwa o kakeru

   to make a call

   電話 (でんわ)が掛 (か)かって来 (く)る

   denwa ga kakatte kuru

   to receive a call

   電話 (でんわ)を切 (き)る

   denwa o kiru

   to hang up

Compounds

Verb

電話する ‎(hiragana でんわする, romaji denwa suru)

1. to make a phone call; to telephone; to call

Usage notes

• In order to imply whom one is calling as is done in English with the preposition to in make a phone call to or by the objective case as him in the sentence I called him, the Japanese use に (ni):

1. 私 (わたし)は彼 (かれ)に電話 (でんわ)するつもりだ。

   Watashi wa kare ni denwa suru tsumori da.

   I'm going to call him.

Conjugation

Descendants

• Chinese: 電話／电话
  • Lü: ᦎᦶᧃᧈᦧᦱᧈ ‎(ṫaen¹ẋvaa¹)
• Korean: 전화 (jeonhwa)
• Vietnamese: điện thoại

References

1. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3

Korean

Noun

電話 • ‎(jeonhwa, McCune-Reischauer: chŏnhwa, Yale: cēnhwa) ‎(hangeul 전화)

1. Hanja form^? of 전화, “telephone”.

Vietnamese

Noun

電話

1. Hán tự form of điện thoại, “telephone”