chinese bad phone connection

What to Say in Chinese When the Phone Connection is Bad

In Practical Chinese Phrases by Angel Huang

Picture this: 

You’re on the metro in Shanghai when your phone rings. 

It’s an important call and you’ve got to take it!

Unfortunately, the poor phone connection and noisy environment make it impossible to hear the person on the other end...

In your first language, you probably know how to handle this. But what would you say in Chinese?

Press play to learn some things native speakers might say in this type of situation.

A Summary of the Phrases from the Video

喂!喂!信号不好。

wéi! wéi! xìn hào bù hǎo.

Hello! Hello! I've got bad reception.

喂!什么?断断续续的。

wéi!shén me? duàn duàn xù xù de. 

Hello! What did you say? You're breaking up.

我在地铁上,等一下回你电话。

wǒ zài dì tiě shàng, děng yī xià huí nǐ diàn huà.

I'm on the metro right now. I'll call you back in a bit.

什么?这里太吵了。我听不见。

shén me? zhè lǐ tài chǎo le. wǒ tīng bù jiàn.

What did you say? It's really noisy here. I'm losing you.

啊?啊?听不到。我听不到。

a? a? tīng bù dào. wǒ tīng bù dào.

Ah? Ah? I can't hear you. I can't hear you.

什么?什么?我听不清楚。我在地铁上。

shén me? shén me? wǒ tīng bù qīng chǔ. wǒ zài dì tiě shàng.

What? What? I can't hear you clearly. I'm on the metro.

我在电梯里。你刚才说了什么?我只有一格信号。

wǒ zài diàn tī lǐ. nǐ gāng cái shuō le shén me? wǒ zhǐ yǒu yī gé xìn hào.

I'm in the elevator. What did you just say? I only have one bar.

我听不见。你说什么?我在地铁上,信号很差。

wǒ tīng bù jiàn. nǐ shuō shén me? wǒ zài dì tiě shàng, xìn hào hěn chà.

I'm losing you. What did you say? I'm on the metro and the reception is really bad.

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