tung1 waa6通話通话
Jyutpingtung1 waa6
Yaletūng wah
Definition
To talk on the phone, or a telephone conversation.
neutralcommunicationtechnology
How it's used
Refers specifically to the act or duration of a phone call rather than the casual act of chatting. It is more common in formal contexts like billing, technical settings, or describing the status of a line, whereas 傾電話 is the standard way to describe having a conversation.
Measure word
dyun6段dyunhExamples
What were you doing while we were talking on the phone?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using it as a verb to mean 'to chat on the phone' as it sounds overly formal or technical. Use 傾電話 instead for everyday social interaction.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
