Meaning
This is a compound noun meaning 'telephone number.' It combines 电话 (telephone) and 号码 (number). This is the standard and most common way to refer to a phone number in Mandarin Chinese, used in all contexts from casual conversation to formal documentation.
Usage
Used universally in both spoken and written Chinese. When asking for someone's phone number, you would say '你的电话号码是多少？' (What's your phone number?). In casual speech, people sometimes shorten it to just 电话 when context is clear. It's appropriate for all registers and situations.
Examples
- 01请问，你的电话号码是多少？, ?Excuse me, what is your phone number?
- 02我把我的电话号码写在纸上了。.I wrote my phone number on the paper.
Characters
Measure words
- 个一个电话号码
Common collocations
- 留电话号码to leave a phone number
- 拨电话号码to dial a phone number
- 记下电话号码to write down a phone number
- 告诉我你的电话号码tell me your phone number
Origin
The term 电话 (telephone) literally means 'electric speech,' coined when telephones were introduced to China. 号码 means 'number' or 'code,' where 号 refers to a mark or designation and 码 refers to a code or numerical identifier.