Making business phone calls: Giving your name and contact details

💬 Titles come after the surname: 王经理 "Manager Wang", 李老师 "Teacher Li". This is the reverse of the English order.

🇨🇳 This is a light, polite "sorry" for small inconveniences, like saying the boss isn't available. It is much softer than 对不起 (duì bu qǐ), which suggests real fault.

💬 不 is said (bú) before the falling tone of 在 (zài), so you hear (bú zài).

🇨🇳 People are addressed by surname plus job title, as in 王经理, rather than by first name. This is standard and polite in Chinese business calls.

💬 请问 (qǐng wèn) "may I ask" is a handy polite opener for any question. 哪位 (nǎ wèi) is a respectful "who", more courteous than plain 谁 (shéi).

💬 To identify yourself on the phone, Chinese uses 我是 (wǒ shì) "I am". English says "this is" instead.

💬 A 的 at the end, with no noun after it, works like "one": ABC公司的 is short for "(the person) of ABC Company". Swap in any company name the same way.

🇨🇳 Callers usually give their name and then their company right away. Chinese receptionists expect this so they can put you through.

💬 电话 (diàn huà) means both "phone" and "phone number". Context tells you which one is meant.

💬 多少 (duō shao) "how much/many" is also how you ask for any number, such as a phone number or room number. English would use "what" here instead.

💬 When reading phone numbers aloud, 一 is usually said (yāo) instead of (yī) so it isn't confused with 七 (qī).

🇨🇳 Chinese mobile numbers have 11 digits, and people often read them in groups of 3-4-4.

💬 遍 counts how many times something is done from start to finish, so 再说一遍 is literally "say one more time through". Also 再写一遍 "write it again". 一 is said (yí) before the falling tone of 遍 (biàn).

🇨🇳 Using 您 rather than 你 keeps this request respectful. That matters when asking a stranger to repeat themselves on a business call.

💬 下 after a verb means the action fixes something in place, and 了 marks it as done. Also 写下了 "wrote it down".

💬 给 + person comes before the verb to show who the action is for: 给您回电话 is "call you back". Also 给我发邮件 "send me an email".

💬 太…了 wraps around an adjective to mean "so…!". Also 太贵了 "too expensive!". With a positive word it shows delight, and with a negative one it complains.

🇨🇳 Chinese speakers often thank someone by acknowledging the bother they caused rather than saying 谢谢. It's a warm, polite way to end a request on a business call.

💬 不 here is said (bú), not (bù), because the next syllable 客 (kè) has a falling tone. The literal meaning is "don't be a guest", i.e. no need for formality.