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How to Say ‘Can I pay by phone?’ in Simplified Chinese

可以手机支付吗？

kě yǐ shǒu jī zhī fù ma

[kuh ee show-jee jir-foo ma]

🇨🇳 In China: In China, phone payment is extremely common, often more common than bank cards in small shops, taxis, and street stalls. If card payment fails, asking about [手机支付] is often the more practical next question.

Phrase Breakdown

可以

kě yǐ

can / is it okay to

Polite way to ask about permission or possibility.

Example

这里可以拍照吗？

Can I take photos here?

Words in this phrase

可

kě

[kuh]

can; may

可 is the first character of 可以, which together means can or may.

Example

这样可不可以？

Is this okay or not?

以

yǐ

[ee]

to use; by means of

以 is often part of words like 可以 and can suggest using or by means of in other contexts.

Example

可以先看看吗？

May I take a look first?

手机支付

shǒu jī zhī fù

mobile payment

Paying with a phone, such as WeChat Pay or Alipay.

Example

我用手机支付。

I pay with my phone.

Words in this phrase

手机

shǒu jī

[show-jee]

mobile phone

手机 means mobile phone or cellphone.

Example

我的手机没电了。

My phone is out of battery.

支付

zhī fù

[jir-foo]

to pay; payment

支付 means to pay, often in formal or modern payment contexts.

Example

我用微信支付。

I pay with WeChat Pay.

吗？

ma

question particle

Makes the sentence a question.

Example

可以吗？

Is that okay?

Words in this phrase

吗

ma

[ma]

question particle

吗 makes the sentence a yes-no question.

Example

现在可以进去吗？

Can I go in now?

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