Skip to content
Mythic Mandarin

On the phone: 喂, 知道 and 问

HSK 1 Unit 7: Free time and getting around · Lesson 4 of 5 · About 15 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can answer and make a short phone call, say what you know with 知道, and say you will ask someone with 问.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 地铁 mean?

    1. to arrive, to reach
    2. subway, metro
    3. to walk, to go
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, subway, metro.

    地铁 (dìtiě) means subway, metro.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “airport”?

    1. 怎么
    2. 北京
    3. 机场
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 机场.

    “airport” is 机场 (jīchǎng).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    慢 màn

    1. in, inside
    2. colour
    3. slow
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, slow.

    You heard 慢 (màn): slow.

New words

  • 电话diànhuàtelephone, phone call
  • 喂wéihello (on the phone)
  • 知道zhīdàoto know (a fact)
  • 问wènto ask

Phone calls

On the phone, Chinese speakers start with 喂 (wéi), hello. Then say who you are with 我是…. 打电话 is to make a phone call.

  • 喂，我是马克。

    Wéi, wǒ shì Mǎkè.

    Hello, it's Mark.

  • 我打电话。

    Wǒ dǎ diànhuà.

    I'm making a phone call.

知道 and 认识

知道 (zhīdao) is to know a fact. 认识 is to know a person. The negative is 不知道, I don't know.

  • 你知道他的电话吗？

    Nǐ zhīdào tā de diànhuà ma?

    Do you know his phone number?

  • 我不知道。

    Wǒ bù zhīdào.

    I don't know.

  • 我认识他。

    Wǒ rènshi tā.

    I know him.

  • Not: 我知道王老师。

    But: 我认识王老师。 Wǒ rènshi Wáng lǎoshī.

    我知道王老师 only says you have heard of Teacher Wang. To say you know someone personally, use 认识.

问 (wèn) is to ask. 问问 is to ask quickly.

  • 你问问老师。

    Nǐ wènwen lǎoshī.

    Ask the teacher.

Characters

  • 喂 = 口
  • 问 = 门

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

A phone call

Mark calls Chen Jing to get Teacher Wang's number.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

  1. Listening

    Listen first. Where is Chen Jing?

    1. at home
    2. at school
    3. at the bank
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, at home.

    陈静 says 我在家.

  2. Listening

    What does Mark want?

    1. Teacher Wang's phone number
    2. Li Ming's phone number
    3. a book from Chen Jing
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, Teacher Wang's phone number.

    马克 asks 你知道王老师的电话吗？

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 陈静

    喂Wéi？

    Hello?

  2. 马克

    喂Wéi，陈静Chén Jìng，我wǒ是shì马克Mǎkè。你Nǐ在zài哪儿nǎr？

    Hello, Chen Jing, it's Mark. Where are you?

  3. 陈静

    我Wǒ在zài家jiā。你好Nǐ hǎo，马克Mǎkè！

    I'm at home. Hi, Mark!

  4. 马克

    你Nǐ知道zhīdào王老师Wáng lǎoshī的de电话diànhuà吗ma？

    Do you know Teacher Wang's phone number?

  5. 陈静

    我Wǒ不bù知道zhīdào。你Nǐ问问wènwen李明Lǐ Míng，他tā知道zhīdào。

    I don't know. Ask Li Ming, he knows.

  6. 马克

    好Hǎo，我wǒ问wèn李明Lǐ Míng。谢谢Xièxie！

    OK, I'll ask Li Ming. Thanks!

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 你知道王老师的电话吗？

    Nǐ zhīdào Wáng lǎoshī de diànhuà ma?

    Do you know Teacher Wang's phone number?

  • 我不知道。你问问李明，他知道。

    Wǒ bù zhīdào. Nǐ wènwen Lǐ Míng, tā zhīdào.

    I don't know. Ask Li Ming, he knows.

  • 好，我问李明。谢谢！

    Hǎo, wǒ wèn Lǐ Míng. Xièxie!

    OK, I'll ask Li Ming. Thanks!

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 电话 mean?

    1. telephone, phone call
    2. lunch
    3. to want
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, telephone, phone call.

    电话 (diànhuà) means telephone, phone call.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “hello (on the phone)”?

    1. 开
    2. 车
    3. 喂
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 喂.

    “hello (on the phone)” is 喂 (wéi).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 知道 (to know (a fact))?

    1. zhídào
    2. zhīdáo
    3. zhīdào
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, zhīdào.

    知道 is read zhīdào. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    问 wèn

    1. to ask
    2. left
    3. to know (a fact)
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, to ask.

    You heard 问 (wèn): to ask.

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 电话 (telephone, phone call). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: diànhuà

    电话 is diànhuà in pinyin.

  6. In context

    Your phone rings. What do you say first?

    1. 再见！
    2. 喂？
    3. 谢谢！
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 喂？.

    喂？: 喂: hello, on the phone.

  7. Grammar

    Which sentence means I know Li Ming (I've met him)?

    1. 我知道李明。
    2. 我是李明。
    3. 我认识李明。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 我认识李明。.

    我认识李明。 认识 for people you have met.

  8. Fill the gap

    Complete: I don't know.

    我不＿＿。

    1. 知道
    2. 认识
    3. 问
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 知道.

    我不知道。 知道 is to know a fact.

  9. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for I don't know

    Show the answer

    Answer: 我不知道

    我不知道: I don't know.

Make a call

Act out a short phone call out loud: answer it, say who you are, ask something and say goodbye.

  1. 喂？
  2. 喂，我是…。
  3. Ask: 你知道…吗？
  4. Say goodbye: 谢谢，再见！

Sentence frames

  • 你知道＿＿吗？

    Nǐ zhīdào ＿＿ ma?

    Do you know ...?

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I answer the phone with 喂.
  • I use 知道 for facts and 认识 for people.
  • I can say 我问问… to ask someone.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: A day in the park