商务电话礼仪 (shāngwù diànhuà lǐyí) Business Etiquette—Make a phone call



Key learning points preview:

商务电话 (shāngwù diànhuà): n make a call for business purpose



保持联系 (bǎochí liánxì): v to keep in touch


Making a phone call sometimes is the first step in building business relationships and can have important impact on the success or failure of such relationships.

In the context of business Chinese, when you make the first contact, the first sentence should be “喂，您好！(wèi, nínhǎo!) How do you do?” We usually don’t use “你好 (nǐhǎo),” which means hello, because “您 (nín)” shows more respect than “你 (nĭ)” does, and is often used to call those who are older or with higher ranks.

Another etiquette in the context of business Chinese: when receiving a phone call and not knowing who is calling, we often use “请问您是哪位 (qǐng wèn nín shì nǎ wèi) may I know who is speaking please?” But in daily conversations, we often use a less respectable form: “你找谁 (nǐ zhǎo shuí) whom are you calling?” “请问 (qǐng wèn) may I ask… please?” shows that you are polite and have a good manner. “哪位 (nǎ wèi)” and “谁 (shuí)” both mean who. “哪 (nǎ)” in this sentence means which, “位 (wèi)” is a measure word. “你找谁 (nǐ zhǎo shuí)” is used in daily Chinese and the tone is not so polite.

When you are ready to hung up the phone, you can say:

Zàijiàn, hěn gāoxìng hé nín zài diànhuà zhōng gōutōng, bǎochí liánxì.
再见， 很 高兴 和 您 在 电话 中 沟通， 保持 联系。

　

Goodbye, nice to talk with you on the phone, and keep in touch.
Key learning points:

商务电话 (shāngwù diànhuà): n make a call for business purpose



“商务 (shāngwù)” means business and “电话 (diànhuà)” means telephone or phone call.


Example:

Shāngwù diànhuà yào jíshí huífù.
商务 电话 要 及时 回复。



Business calls should be returned timely.

保持联系 (bǎochí liánxì): v to keep in touch

　

“保持 (bǎochí)” means to keep and “联系 (liánxì)” means contact.

Example:

Guì gōngsī de dǎyìnjī yàngpǐn fúhé wǒmen de yāoqiú,
贵 公司 的 打印机 样品 符合 我们 的 要求，

zhè shì wǒ de míngpiàn, bǎochí liánxì.
这 是 我 的 名片， 保持 联系。

　

The sample printer offered by your company can meet our requirements. Here is my name card, keep in touch.

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