Telling Phone Numbers in Mandarin Chinese (电话号码/diànhuà hàomǎ)

1. 📌 Introduction

In Mandarin Chinese, phone numbers are spoken digit by digit. Unlike in English, where we sometimes group digits (e.g., “four-oh-four”), in Chinese, each digit is said clearly and separately.

Phone number = 电话号码

电话 (diànhuà) = telephone

号码 (hàomǎ) = number

2. 🔢 Chinese Numbers 0–9

Here are the digits you’ll need:

Note: In phone numbers, 一 (yī) is sometimes pronounced yāo (幺) to avoid confusion with 七 (qī).

3. 📞 How to Say a Phone Number

Chinese phone numbers are usually 11 digits long (mobile numbers), and you just say each digit one by one.

Example:
Phone number: 13845679021

Say it in Chinese:
yāo sān bā sì wǔ liù qī jiǔ líng èr yī
(幺 三 八 四 五 六 七 九 零 二 一)

4. 🧠 Important Tips

✅ Say each digit one by one
✅ Use “幺 (yāo)” instead of “一 (yī)” if needed for clarity
✅ Use “打电话” (dǎ diànhuà) = to make a phone call
✅ Use “电话号码是多少?” (Diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?) = What is your phone number?

5. 📝 Useful Expressions

a. 我的电话号码是一三八四五六七九零二一。
Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì yī sān bā sì wǔ liù qī jiǔ líng èr yī.
My phone number is 13845679021.

b. 你可以打电话给我。
Nǐ kěyǐ dǎ diànhuà gěi wǒ.
You can call me.

c. 请问，你的电话号码是多少？
Qǐngwèn, nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
Excuse me, what is your phone number?

d. 这是我的新号码。
Zhè shì wǒ de xīn hàomǎ.
This is my new number.

6. 👥 Dialogue for Practice

Please practice the following dialogue.

🧑‍🎓 学生 A：李华 (Lǐ Huá)
🧑‍🎓 学生 B：安娜 (Ānnà)

李华：你好！你叫什么名字？
Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
Hi! What’s your name?

安娜：我叫安娜。你呢？
Wǒ jiào Ānnà. Nǐ ne?
My name is Anna. How about you?

李华：我叫李华。你的电话号码是多少？
Wǒ jiào Lǐ Huá. Nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
My name is Li Hua. What’s your phone number?

安娜：一五八零二三四五六七八。你呢？
Yāo wǔ bā líng èr sān sì wǔ liù qī bā. Nǐ ne?
15802345678. And yours?

李华：一三六七九八五四三二一。
Yāo sān liù qī jiǔ bā wǔ sì sān èr yī.
13679854321.

安娜：谢谢！我会打电话给你。
Xièxiè! Wǒ huì dǎ diànhuà gěi nǐ.
Thanks! I’ll call you.