Lesson 9: The Phone Call

5 min read

Target Audio

Listen to the dialogue 5 times before moving on. Don’t try to understand everything — just let the sounds wash over you.

Vocabulary

New words for this lesson. Hover over pinyin to see characters.

PinyinMeaningCharacters
diànHuàtelephone電話
dǎ diànHuàto make a phone call打電話
shǒuJĪcell phone手機
Wèihello (on phone)喂
Wènto ask問
děngto wait等

Location:

PinyinMeaningCharacters
nǎrwhere哪兒

Pattern Practice

Practice these patterns out loud. The goal is automatic production.

Statements (7)

1. Possessive + phone:

nǐ de diànHuà！ Your phone!

2. Subject + dǎ diànhuà:

wánG zǒng dǎ diànHuà。 Boss Wang is making a phone call.

3. Phone greeting:

Wèi？ Hello? (answering phone)

4. hǎo + subject + verb (agreeing to action):

hǎo，wǒ děng。 OK, I’ll wait.

5. Subject + wèn + object:

wǒ Wèn TĀ。 I’ll ask him.

6. bùyào + verb (negative command):

BùYào děng！ Don’t wait!

7. Command + location:

láI GŌNGSĪ！ Come to the company!

Questions & Answers (3)

Q1: nǐ ZÀI nǎr？ — Where are you? A1: wǒ ZÀI GŌNGSĪ。 — I’m at the company.

Q2: shéI dǎ diànHuà？ — Who is calling? A2: wánG zǒng dǎ diànHuà。 — Boss Wang is calling.

Q3: Zhè Shì shéI de shǒuJĪ？ — Whose cell phone is this? A3: Zhè Shì wǒ de shǒuJĪ。 — This is my cell phone.

Pinyin Target Story

Read while listening. Focus on connecting sounds to meaning.

  1. Kevin de diànHuà。 Kevin’s phone.

  2. nǐ de diànHuà！ Your phone!

  3. Wèi？ Hello?

  4. wánG zǒng dǎ diànHuà。 Boss Wang is calling.

  5. nǐ de shǒuJĪ。 Your cell phone.

  6. hǎo，wǒ děng。 OK, I’ll wait.

  7. Wèi！Kevin！ Hello! Kevin!

  8. nǐ ZÀI nǎr？láI GŌNGSĪ！ Where are you? Come to the company!

  9. BùYào děng！ Don’t wait!

  10. wǒ Wèn TĀ。 I’ll ask him.

Comprehension Check

Choose the best answer based on the story.

1. Who is making a phone call?

2. Boss Wang asks Kevin…

3. Boss Wang tells Kevin to…

4. Boss Wang says “Bùyào…”

5. Kevin says “wǒ Wèn…”

Pinyin Production

Test your ability to produce the sounds. Type pinyin with tone marks (e.g., nǐhǎo) or tone numbers (e.g., ni3hao3).

Multiple Choice (5)

1. “telephone” =

2. “cell phone” =

3. “to wait” =

4. “to ask” =

5. “where” =

Typing (5)

6. Your phone!→

7. Boss Wang is calling.→

8. Where are you?→

9. OK, I’ll wait.→

10. I’ll ask him.→

Character Reader

Read the characters. Sound out each one, then check with the colored version below.

Plain Text

Kevin 的電話。
你的電話！
喂？
王總打電話。
你的手機。
好，我等。
喂！Kevin！
你在哪兒？來公司！
不要等！
我問他。

Colored by Tone

Kevin 的電話。
你的電話！
喂？
王總打電話。
你的手機。
好，我等。
喂！Kevin！
你在哪兒？來公司！
不要等！
我問他。

Character Production

Now produce the characters from memory.

Multiple Choice (5)

1. “telephone” =

2. “cell phone” =

3. “to wait” =

4. “to ask” =

5. “where” =

Typing (5)

6. Your phone!→

7. Boss Wang is calling.→

8. Where are you?→

9. OK, I’ll wait.→

10. I’ll ask him.→

Listen Again

Play the dialogue three more times. Listen 1: Just listen. Listen 2: Follow along mentally. Listen 3: Try to anticipate the next word.

← Lesson 8 Home Lesson 10 →

Answers

  1. B

  2. A

  3. C

  4. B

  5. A

  6. B

  7. A

  8. C

  9. A

  10. B

  11. B

  12. A

  13. C

  14. A

  15. B

Typing:

  • 1: nǐ de diànhuà
  • 2: wáng zǒng dǎ diànhuà
  • 3: nǐ zài nǎr
  • 4: hǎo wǒ děng
  • 5: wǒ wèn tā
  • 6: 你的電話
  • 7: 王總打電話
  • 8: 你在哪兒
  • 9: 好，我等
  • 10: 我問他
Click to reveal answers

Comprehension Check

  1. B) wánG zǒng (Boss Wang)
  2. A) nǐ ZÀI nǎr? (Where are you?)
  3. C) láI GŌNGSĪ (come to the company)
  4. B) děng (wait)
  5. A) TĀ (him)

Pinyin Production

MC: 1-B, 2-A, 3-C, 4-A, 5-B

Typing: 6. nǐ de diànhuà 7. wáng zǒng dǎ diànhuà 8. nǐ zài nǎr 9. hǎo wǒ děng 10. wǒ wèn tā

Character Production

MC: 1-B, 2-A, 3-C, 4-A, 5-B

Typing: 6. 你的電話 7. 王總打電話 8. 你在哪兒 9. 好，我等 10. 我問他