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Oxford Online English, Talking on the Phone in English - English Phone Vocabulary Lesson

Talking on the Phone in English - English Phone Vocabulary Lesson

Hello?

Hello, can I speak to Kasia, please?

Yes, speaking.

Hi, Kasia, it's Oli here.

Oh, hello!

I wanted to ask: I need some English phrases for talking on the phone.

Do you think you could help me with that?

Of course!

What do you need to learn?

Well, everything, I suppose.

No problem!

Shall we start?

Yeah, why not?

Hi, I'm Oli.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

Let's learn how to speak English on the phone.

In this lesson, you can learn how to deal with common situations and problems when you're

talking on the phone in English.

You'll see four dialogues, and then we'll explain the vocabulary and phrases that we

use.

This way, you'll learn everything you need to make phone calls in English!

Let's start by showing you how to make an informal phone call, for example to a friend

or a colleague you know well.

Hello? Oli, hi!

Sorry, who's this?

It's Kasia!

Oh, hi!

Sorry, didn't have your number saved.

No worries.

Listen: some of us are going rafting this weekend.

Do you want to come?

Wow, that sounds great!

Yeah, sure.

Brilliant!

I'll text you the details.

Okay, cheers for the invite, see you then I guess.

Bye!

Let's look at the whole dialogue.

What do you notice?

First, I answered with a simple hello.

This is common if you're answering the phone informally and you don't know who's calling.

I also used an informal way to ask who was calling.

And I used an informal way to give my name.

If you're calling your friend, don't say,

I'm Kasia

Instead, say,

It's Kasia.

Next, you can see that Kasia tells me why she's calling in a very simple way.

Also, look at the whole dialogue.

It's quite short, right?

This is common in informal phone calls.

We don't ask how are you or anything like that.

It's not bad to ask how are you, of course!

But, it's not necessary in an informal phone call if you know each other well.

You can also see many examples of informal language that we both used, for example wow,

yeah, cheers, I guess, or using invite as a noun instead of invitation.

Finally, we ended the conversation quickly and simply.

We used simple, informal goodbye words: see you and bye.

Next, let's look at how can you make a formal phone call, so you can see the difference.

Good afternoon, Oxford Online English, how can I help?

Hello, could I speak to Michael Hart, please?

Who's calling, please?

My name is Oli Redman and

I'm calling concerning a proposal which Mr Hart sent to me.

One moment, please…

I'm afraid he's not available right now.

Would it be alright for him to call you back in about 30 minutes?

Yes, that would be fine.

And does he have your number?

Yes, he called me last week, so he must have it.

That's fine.

He'll call you in half an hour or so.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

No, that's all.

Thank you for your help.

You're welcome.

Thanks for calling, and have a nice day!

And to you.

Goodbye!

Can you see the difference between this and the first dialogue you heard?

First, I answered the phone with a longer greeting.

Instead of just hello, I used a full phrase.

I also said the name of the company—this is common when answering the phone at work.

You could also say your full name, like this:

Hello, Kasia Warszynska.

Or, you could say the name of your manager, like this:

Good morning, Anna Gilbert's office.

You can also see that you use different phrases to ask who's calling, or to say who you

are:

Who's calling, please?

Or: My name is…

In this case, I used My name is... because I was introducing myself for the first time.

If you're talking to someone who you've met before, you could use this is and give

your name.

For example, I could say:

This is Oli.

Oli also said why he was calling using a longer, more formal phrase:

I'm calling concerning…

You could also use something like:

I would like to ask about…

Or: I wanted to discuss … with you.

In general, you can see that the dialogue is much longer.

We spoke more, and also used longer sentences.

You can see many examples of formal language that we both used, like I'm afraid he's

not available, would it be alright to…, or that would be fine.

Finally, the goodbye is also much longer.

I started ending the call by asking:

Is there anything else I can do for you?

Compare this to the first dialogue, where we ended the call very quickly and simply.

In this dialogue, ending the call took several sentences.

We also used more formal goodbye phrases, like:

Thanks for your help.

Thanks for calling.

Have a nice day!/And to you!

Or: Goodbye

So you can see two important differences here: the language is almost totally different,

and also the style is different, because everything is longer.

Next, let's look at another dialogue to see how to deal with a common problem when

talking on the phone in English.

Hello?

Kasia, hi it's Oli.

Hi Oli.

Sorry, say that again.

I said, we're thinking of going to the cinema.

The sound's very quiet.

Can you speak up a bit? Hello?

Sorry, I really can't hear.

How about now?

Ah, yes, that's better!

Sorry, I'm in the subway, and the signal's not so good.

So, what were you saying?

I wanted to say…

Hold on, my battery's about to die.

Can I call you back later?

Sure, I'll be free till…

First, a question for you: was this dialogue formal or informal?

It was informal.

Here, you can see some common problems you might have talking on the phone in English.

At the beginning, I couldn't hear Oli's question.

So, I said:

Sorry, say that again.

You could use many different phrases here, like:

What was that?

Or: What did you say?

In a more formal conversation, you could say something like:

I'm sorry, could you repeat that?

Or: Could you say that again, please?

Next, Kasia couldn't hear me because the sound was too low.

She asked:

Can you speak up a bit?

Speak up means to speak more loudly.

Mrore formally, you could say something like:

The sound is low.

Would you mind speaking a little more loudly?

When speaking formally, you need to be more indirect, which means you need longer sentences.

We were having problems because Oli was on the subway.

Do you remember what he said?

The signal's not so good.

You could also say:

I don't have much signal.

Or: There's not much reception here.

Finally, he ran out of battery.

He really should have charged his phone before he went out!

Hey, that's not my fault!

And anyway, I said I'd call you back.

And did you?

Finally, what if you call someone, and they're not there?

Hello, OOE productions, can I help?

Hello, this is Kasia Warzsynska.

I'm calling for Pieter Okker.

Is he available?

Unfortunately he's busy at the moment.

Would you like to leave a message, or should I get him to call you back later?

Um…

Can I leave him a message?

It's quite important.

Of course.

Could you ask him to double check the hotel reservations for the Italy conference?

He'll know what I mean.

Very well.

Anything else?

No, that's everything, but do please make sure he gets it as soon as possible.

I'll pass your message on as soon as he's free.

Thank you.

Would you also like him to call you back?

Yes, please.

If you could get him to call me at my office, that would be wonderful.

No problem at all.

Thanks so much.

You're welcome, bye-bye now!

Bye!

Let's start with the same question: was this dialogue more formal, or more informal?

It was more formal this time.

In this dialogue, I wanted to speak to someone, but he wasn't there.

Oli took a message for me.

Do you remember the question he asked?

He said:

Would you like to leave a message?

You could also say:

Can I take a message?

Should I give him a message?

What can you say to answer this question?

You could say something like:

Can I leave him a message?

Or: Could you pass on a message for me?

Then, give your message:

Can you ask him to…?

Could you tell her that…?

Just let him know that…

Here's a full example:

Could you tell her that I'll be arriving at five o'clock, instead of half seven?

You might also say how important your message is, particularly if it is very important!

For example:

Please make sure he gets it as soon as possible; it's really important.

It's urgent, so please tell her as soon as you can.

If it's not so important, you could say something like:

It's not urgent, so just let him know when he's free.

Hello?

Hi, yeah, it's Oli again.

Hi, Oli!

Did you learn everything you needed about how to talk on the phone in English?

Yeah, great lesson, thanks Kasia!

You're welcome, glad you liked it!

Where could I find more free English lessons like this?

You should definitely go to Oxford Online English.com.

There are lots of great free English lessons there.

What did you say?

I couldn't hear you.

I said Oxford Online English.com.

Ah, great, thanks!

No problem, bye!

See you!

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Talking on the Phone in English - English Phone Vocabulary Lesson Telefonieren auf Englisch - Lektion zum englischen Telefonwortschatz Hablar por teléfono en inglés - Lección de vocabulario telefónico en inglés Parler au téléphone en anglais - Leçon de vocabulaire sur le téléphone en anglais Parlare al telefono in inglese - Lezione di vocabolario telefonico in inglese 英語で電話で話す-英会話ボキャブラリーレッスン 영어로 전화로 말하기 - 영어 전화 어휘 수업 Telefoneren in het Engels - Engelse telefoonwoordenschatles Rozmawianie przez telefon po angielsku - Lekcja angielskiego słownictwa telefonicznego Falar ao telefone em inglês - Lição de vocabulário para telefone em inglês Разговор по телефону на английском языке - English Phone Vocabulary Lesson İngilizce Telefonda Konuşmak - İngilizce Telefonda Kelime Bilgisi Dersi Розмова по телефону англійською мовою - урок англійської телефонної лексики 用英语讲电话 - 英语电话词汇课程 用英語打電話 - 英語電話詞彙課

Hello?

Hello, can I speak to Kasia, please? |||||Привіт, можна до Касі?|

Yes, speaking. |Так, слухаю.

Hi, Kasia, it's Oli here. |||Привіт, Кася, це Оля.|

Oh, hello!

I wanted to ask: I need some English phrases for talking on the phone. ||||||||Sure, here are some English phrases for talking on the phone translated into Chinese (Simplified): 1. Hello - 你好 2. Who's calling? - 谁在打电话? 3. Hold on - 稍等 4. Call back - 回电 5. Wrong number - 打错了 6. Speak up - 大声点 7. One moment - 稍等 8. Busy line - 占线 9. Leave message - 留言 10. Call later - 稍后再打|||||

Do you think you could help me with that?

Of course!

What do you need to learn? |||||вивчити

Well, everything, I suppose. |Усе, мабуть.||гадаю Nun, alles, nehme ich an.

No problem!

Shall we start? verbo auxiliar|| Почнемо?||

Yeah, why not?

Hi, I'm Oli.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

Let's learn how to speak English on the phone.

In this lesson, you can learn how to deal with common situations and problems when you're ||||||||впоратися з||поширені|||||

talking on the phone in English.

You'll see four dialogues, and then we'll explain the vocabulary and phrases that we |||||||пояснимо||словниковий запас||||

use.

This way, you'll learn everything you need to make phone calls in English!

Let's start by showing you how to make an informal phone call, for example to a friend |||||||||неформальний||||наприклад|||

or a colleague you know well.

Hello? Oli, hi! Hallo? Olli, hallo!

Sorry, who's this?

It's Kasia!

Oh, hi!

Sorry, didn't have your number saved. Sorry, hatte deine Nummer nicht gespeichert.

No worries. Keine Sorge.

Listen: some of us are going rafting this weekend. ||||||漂流|| ||||||сплавлятися на плотах|| ||||||fazendo rafting|| Hör zu: Einige von uns gehen dieses Wochenende raften.

Do you want to come?

Wow, that sounds great!

Yeah, sure. |Так, звісно.

Brilliant! Чудово!

I'll text you the details. |我会发你。||| Ich schicke dir die Details per SMS.

Okay, cheers for the invite, see you then I guess. |Дякую|||запрошення|||||здогадуюсь Okay, Prost auf die Einladung, bis dann, denke ich.

Bye!

Let's look at the whole dialogue. ||||давайте подивимось на весь діалог|

What do you notice? |||Що ви помічаєте? Was fällt dir auf?

First, I answered with a simple hello.

This is common if you're answering the phone informally and you don't know who's calling. ||звичайне явище||||||неофіційно||||||

I also used an informal way to ask who was calling.

And I used an informal way to give my name.

If you're calling your friend, don't say,

I'm Kasia Ich bin Kasia

Instead, say, Натомість скажіть|

It's Kasia. Es ist Kasia.

Next, you can see that Kasia tells me why she's calling in a very simple way. Als nächstes können Sie sehen, dass Kasia mir auf sehr einfache Weise sagt, warum sie anruft.

Also, look at the whole dialogue. ||||цілий|

It's quite short, right? |досить||

This is common in informal phone calls. ||||неформальний||

We don't ask how are you or anything like that.

It's not bad to ask how are you, of course! Es ist natürlich nicht schlecht zu fragen, wie es dir geht!

But, it's not necessary in an informal phone call if you know each other well. |||не обов'язково|||||||||один одного|| Bei einem informellen Telefonat ist es aber nicht nötig, wenn man sich gut kennt.

You can also see many examples of informal language that we both used, for example wow, |||||приклади неформальної мови||||||обидва|||| Sie können auch viele Beispiele für informelle Sprache sehen, die wir beide verwendet haben, zum Beispiel wow,

yeah, cheers, I guess, or using invite as a noun instead of invitation. |дякую||здогадуюсь|||запрошення|||запрошення|замість цього||запрошення Ja, Prost, schätze ich, oder Einladung als Substantiv anstelle von Einladung verwenden.

Finally, we ended the conversation quickly and simply. Нарешті||закінчили||розмова|||

We used simple, informal goodbye words: see you and bye.

Next, let's look at how can you make a formal phone call, so you can see the difference. |||||||||||||||||різницю

Good afternoon, Oxford Online English, how can I help?

Hello, could I speak to Michael Hart, please? |||||Майкл||

Who's calling, please?

My name is Oli Redman and ||||Редман|

I'm calling concerning a proposal which Mr Hart sent to me. ||关于||提案|||||| ||щодо||пропозиція|||||| ||sobre|||||||| Ich rufe wegen eines Vorschlags an, den Mr. Hart mir geschickt hat.

One moment, please…

I'm afraid he's not available right now. |担心||||| |боюся|||доступний|| Ich fürchte, er ist gerade nicht verfügbar.

Would it be alright for him to call you back in about 30 minutes? |||гаразд||||||||| Wäre es in Ordnung, wenn er Sie in etwa 30 Minuten zurückruft?

Yes, that would be fine.

And does he have your number?

Yes, he called me last week, so he must have it.

That's fine.

He'll call you in half an hour or so. Він зателефонує|||||||| Er ruft Sie in einer halben Stunde oder so an.

Is there anything else I can do for you?

No, that's all.

Thank you for your help. Danke für Ihre Hilfe.

You're welcome.

Thanks for calling, and have a nice day!

And to you. Und zu dir.

Goodbye!

Can you see the difference between this and the first dialogue you heard?

First, I answered the phone with a longer greeting.

Instead of just hello, I used a full phrase.

I also said the name of the company—this is common when answering the phone at work. Ich habe auch den Namen des Unternehmens genannt – das ist üblich, wenn man bei der Arbeit ans Telefon geht.

You could also say your full name, like this:

Hello, Kasia Warszynska. ||瓦尔辛斯卡

Or, you could say the name of your manager, like this:

Good morning, Anna Gilbert's office. |||吉尔伯特|

You can also see that you use different phrases to ask who's calling, or to say who you

are:

Who's calling, please? Wer ruft an Bitte?

Or: My name is…

In this case, I used My name is... because I was introducing myself for the first time. In diesem Fall habe ich Mein Name ist... verwendet, weil ich mich zum ersten Mal vorgestellt habe.

If you're talking to someone who you've met before, you could use this is and give

your name.

For example, I could say:

This is Oli. Das ist Olli.

Oli also said why he was calling using a longer, more formal phrase: Oli sagte auch, warum er anrief, indem er einen längeren, formelleren Satz verwendete:

I'm calling concerning… Ich rufe an wegen …

You could also use something like:

I would like to ask about… Ich möchte fragen nach …

Or: I wanted to discuss … with you. Oder: Ich wollte … mit Ihnen diskutieren.

In general, you can see that the dialogue is much longer.

We spoke more, and also used longer sentences.

You can see many examples of formal language that we both used, like I'm afraid he's Sie können viele Beispiele formaler Sprache sehen, die wir beide verwendet haben, wie ich fürchte, er

not available, would it be alright to…, or that would be fine.

Finally, the goodbye is also much longer.

I started ending the call by asking: Ich begann das Gespräch zu beenden, indem ich fragte:

Is there anything else I can do for you?

Compare this to the first dialogue, where we ended the call very quickly and simply.

In this dialogue, ending the call took several sentences.

We also used more formal goodbye phrases, like:

Thanks for your help.

Thanks for calling. Danke für den Anruf.

Have a nice day!/And to you! Habt einen schönen Tag!/Und euch!

Or: Goodbye

So you can see two important differences here: the language is almost totally different,

and also the style is different, because everything is longer. |||||||||mais longo

Next, let's look at another dialogue to see how to deal with a common problem when Schauen wir uns als Nächstes einen anderen Dialog an, um zu sehen, wie man wann mit einem allgemeinen Problem umgeht

talking on the phone in English. telefonieren auf englisch.

Hello?

Kasia, hi it's Oli.

Hi Oli.

Sorry, say that again. Entschuldigung, sagen Sie das noch einmal.

I said, we're thinking of going to the cinema. Ich sagte, wir wollen ins Kino gehen.

The sound's very quiet. |声音|| |||silencioso Der Ton ist sehr leise.

Can you speak up a bit? Hello? Kannst du ein bisschen was sagen? Hallo?

Sorry, I really can't hear. Tut mir leid, ich kann wirklich nicht hören.

How about now? Wie wäre es jetzt?

Ah, yes, that's better!

Sorry, I'm in the subway, and the signal's not so good. |||||||信号||| Tut mir leid, ich bin in der U-Bahn und das Signal ist nicht so gut.

So, what were you saying? Also, was hast du gesagt?

I wanted to say… Ich wollte sagen…

Hold on, my battery's about to die. Moment mal, meine Batterie ist am Ende.

Can I call you back later?

Sure, I'll be free till… Sicher, ich bin frei bis …

First, a question for you: was this dialogue formal or informal?

It was informal.

Here, you can see some common problems you might have talking on the phone in English.

At the beginning, I couldn't hear Oli's question. ||||听到||奥利的|

So, I said:

Sorry, say that again.

You could use many different phrases here, like:

What was that? Was war das?

Or: What did you say?

In a more formal conversation, you could say something like:

I'm sorry, could you repeat that?

Or: Could you say that again, please?

Next, Kasia couldn't hear me because the sound was too low.

She asked:

Can you speak up a bit? Kannst du ein bisschen was sagen?

Speak up means to speak more loudly.

Mrore formally, you could say something like: 更多|||||| Mrore formalmente, você poderia dizer algo como:||||||

The sound is low.

Would you mind speaking a little more loudly?

When speaking formally, you need to be more indirect, which means you need longer sentences.

We were having problems because Oli was on the subway.

Do you remember what he said?

The signal's not so good.

You could also say:

I don't have much signal.

Or: There's not much reception here. ||||信号不好| Oder: Hier ist nicht viel Empfang.

Finally, he ran out of battery. |||||电池 Schließlich ging ihm die Batterie aus.

He really should have charged his phone before he went out! Er hätte sein Handy wirklich aufladen sollen, bevor er ausgegangen ist!

Hey, that's not my fault!

And anyway, I said I'd call you back. Und überhaupt, ich sagte, ich rufe dich zurück.

And did you?

Finally, what if you call someone, and they're not there? Und schließlich, was ist, wenn Sie jemanden anrufen und er ist nicht da?

Hello, OOE productions, can I help? |OOE|||| Hallo, OOE productions, kann ich helfen?

Hello, this is Kasia Warzsynska. ||||瓦尔津斯卡

I'm calling for Pieter Okker. |||皮特|奥克

Is he available? Ist er verfügbar?

Unfortunately he's busy at the moment.

Would you like to leave a message, or should I get him to call you back later?

Um…

Can I leave him a message?

It's quite important.

Of course.

Could you ask him to double check the hotel reservations for the Italy conference? |||||verificar novamente|verificar|||||||

He'll know what I mean. Er wird wissen, was ich meine.

Very well.

Anything else?

No, that's everything, but do please make sure he gets it as soon as possible.

I'll pass your message on as soon as he's free. Ich gebe Ihre Nachricht weiter, sobald er frei ist.

Thank you.

Would you also like him to call you back? Möchten Sie auch, dass er Sie zurückruft?

Yes, please.

If you could get him to call me at my office, that would be wonderful. Wenn Sie ihn dazu bringen könnten, mich in meinem Büro anzurufen, wäre das wunderbar.

No problem at all.

Thanks so much.

You're welcome, bye-bye now!

Bye!

Let's start with the same question: was this dialogue more formal, or more informal?

It was more formal this time. Diesmal war es formeller.

In this dialogue, I wanted to speak to someone, but he wasn't there.

Oli took a message for me. Oli nahm eine Nachricht für mich auf.

Do you remember the question he asked?

He said:

Would you like to leave a message? Möchten Sie eine Nachricht hinterlassen?

You could also say:

Can I take a message? 我|||| Kann ich eine Nachricht entgegennehmen?

Should I give him a message?

What can you say to answer this question?

You could say something like:

Can I leave him a message?

Or: Could you pass on a message for me? Oder: Können Sie mir eine Nachricht zukommen lassen?

Then, give your message: Geben Sie dann Ihre Nachricht ein:

Can you ask him to…?

Could you tell her that…? Könntest du ihr sagen, dass …?

Just let him know that…

Here's a full example: |||例子 Hier ist ein vollständiges Beispiel:

Could you tell her that I'll be arriving at five o'clock, instead of half seven? |||||||||||||六点半| Könnten Sie ihr sagen, dass ich um fünf Uhr ankomme, statt um halb sieben?

You might also say how important your message is, particularly if it is very important!

For example:

Please make sure he gets it as soon as possible; it's really important. Bitte stellen Sie sicher, dass er es so schnell wie möglich bekommt; es ist wirklich wichtig.

It's urgent, so please tell her as soon as you can. Es ist dringend, also sag ihr bitte so schnell wie möglich Bescheid.

If it's not so important, you could say something like:

It's not urgent, so just let him know when he's free.

Hello?

Hi, yeah, it's Oli again.

Hi, Oli!

Did you learn everything you needed about how to talk on the phone in English?

Yeah, great lesson, thanks Kasia!

You're welcome, glad you liked it!

Where could I find more free English lessons like this?

You should definitely go to Oxford Online English.com.

There are lots of great free English lessons there.

What did you say?

I couldn't hear you.

I said Oxford Online English.com.

Ah, great, thanks!

No problem, bye!

See you!