Mobile Phone Etiquette 手機禮節
Mobile Phone Etiquette 手機禮節
Hello everyone, my name is Cai Lu. When I arrived in the UK I found it a little difficult to talk with foreign people by mobile phone. It is different from in China. When we talk on the phone in China we usually say in Chinese 你有什么事嗎？But I don't know how to say it in English. To avoid this embarrassing situation, I want the BBC programme to give me some suggestions. Thank you.
Cai Lu, from Beijing, studying in UK
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Telephone conversations can be difficult because you can't see the person you are talking to. Of course this is even harder in a foreign language.
Cai Lu asks us how to say the phrase 你有什么事嗎？in English. Indeed, if you don't know how to say this the conversation can be quite awkward!
So what do British people say?
Finn calls a couple of his colleagues to find out what they would naturally say in place of 你有什么事嗎？
What do you say after 'Hello'?
Listen out for these phrases:
Can I help you with something?
What's up?
Did you just call for a chat?
If you have a question you would like to ask our team, email us at questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.
We might produce a programme about your question.
