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通话 (tōng huà) — to have a phone conversation, to talk on the phone

Definition

通话 emphasizes the act of talking over the phone (esp. on a call), more action-focused than 电话 (which names the device or the call itself). Contrast with 谈话 and 交谈, which are face-to-face conversations, not by phone.

verb
to have a phone conversationto talk on the phone

Examples

  • 通话。
    Wǒ měi tiān hé mā ma tōng huà.
    I talk on the phone with my mom every day.
  • 。
    Wǒ men tōng le yí gè xiǎo shí de huà.
    We talked on the phone for an hour.
  • 通话？
    Nǐ gěi tā tōng huà le ma?
    Did you call him?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

通tōngcommunicate
话huàspeech

通话 pairs 通 (communicate) and 话 (speech), so people talk, especially by phone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng通tōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

通 pairs 辶, a part associated with movement, with 甬, which gives the sound.

Open 通 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
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