Vocabulary (Review)

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Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how the civil servant asks,
"What is your phone number?"
您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao?)
First 您的 (nín de), "your." 您的.
This starts with 您 (nín), "you" when using formal Chinese. 您. 您. 您 is often used to show respect to people, such as seniors or customers. 您.
Now, you might be more familiar with 你 (nǐ), meaning "you." 你 (nǐ). As this is a city office setting, the speaker chooses to use the more formal 您 (nín).
Next is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的. 的.
Think of 的 as a way to indicate possession. The word it follows possesses the thing that comes after it. In this sentence, it marks 您, "you," as the possessor.
Together, it's 您的, a formal way to say "your." 您的.
Next is 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ), "phone number." 电话号码.
电话 (diànhuà). "Phone."电话 . 电话.
号码 (hàomǎ). "Number."号码 . 号码.
Together, it's 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ). "Phone number." 电话号码.
Remember this because you'll see it again in Mark's response.
Next is 是 (shì). In this case, it's like the "is" in "What is your phone number?" 是. 是.
After this is 多少 (duōshǎo), "what." 多少 . 多少.
多少 literally means "a lot, a little." It's used to ask about quantities or numbers, and it usually translates as "how many." As a phone number is a set of numbers, 多少 is used in the question. Here, however, it translates as "what" in the question, "What is your phone number?"
All together, it's 您的电话号码是多少？(Nín de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?) This literally means, "Your phone number is how many?" but translates as "What is your phone number?" 您的电话号码是多少？
Remember this request. You'll hear it again later.
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how Mark says,
"My phone number is 12345678910."
我的电话号码是 12345678910.
First is 我的 (Wǒ de), "my." 我的.
This starts with 我 (Wǒ), "I." 我 . 我.
After this is 的 (de), the possessive-marking particle. 的.
Together, it's 我的, "my." 我的.
Next, do you remember the word for "phone number?"
电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ), "phone number." 电话号码。
Together, 我的电话号码 (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ) means "my phone number." 我的电话号码.
Next is 是 (shì), "is." Here, it's like the "is" in "my phone number is." 是 . 是.
Next is Mark's phone number, 12345678910.
12345678910.
Note how Mark says his phone number:
First, he says each number independently. He says 1 2 3 (yāo èr sān).
Second, the number "one" is pronounced (yāo) instead of (yī) in this dialogue. This is often the case when giving phone numbers.
The reason?
The pronunciation of the number one (yī) is similar to the pronunciation of the number seven (qī).
This could be confusing, especially when you're talking over the phone or speaking quickly.
All together, it's 我的电话号码是 123 4567 8910。
"My phone number is 123 4567 8910."
我的电话号码是 123 4567 8910。
The pattern is
我的电话号码是 {phone number}.
"My phone number is {phone number}."
我的电话号码是 {phone number}.
To use this pattern, simply replace the {phone number} placeholder with your phone number.
Imagine your phone number is 11122332233.
11122332233.
Say
"My phone number is 11122332233."
Ready?
我的电话号码是 11122332233. (Wǒ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì yāo yāo yāo, èr èr sān sān, èr èr sān sān.)
"My number is 111 2233 2233."
我的电话号码是 11122332233.
In China, cellphone numbers are often written without hyphens or spaces between the digits.
When speaking, however, the digits are often grouped in the following format: three digits, four digits, and four digits, with pauses in between.
For example, 123 4567 8910.
For landline numbers, such as for office and home phones, a hyphen is often put after the area code.
When giving an office or home number, simply pause in place of the hyphen.

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