Christa Posted January 4, 2018 at 12:56 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 12:56 PM By the way, along similar lines, what do you guys call your mobile phones in everyday conversation in Chinese? Or should this be its own thread? [Yes. Split from here by Lu. Enjoy your new thread!] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christa Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:02 PM Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:02 PM It's just, I always use 手機 but the other day I came across 手提電話. 手機 is the standard term for normal, everyday conversation, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:10 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:10 PM I'm stuck in the 1990s so I say 大哥大 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christa Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:28 PM Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:28 PM 17 minutes ago, Jim said: I'm stuck in the 1990s so I say 大哥大 D'you think anyone would actually recognise that these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:37 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:37 PM Don't think I've ever heard of abrasive l anyone using anything but 手机 for a mobile / cell phone . There is a word for "smart phone" to distinguish it from a non data enabled phone but I can't think of it at the moment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lu Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:45 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:45 PM 15 minutes ago, Christa said: D'you think anyone would actually recognise that these days? Any Taiwanese, I'd think. I don't think I've heard it in the wild much, but it's certainly recognised. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:52 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 01:52 PM As Lu says, probably recognise it from old films and TV. Can't recall hearing it much up north even when it was current. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted January 4, 2018 at 02:46 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 02:46 PM 1 hour ago, DavyJonesLocker said: There is a word for "smart phone" 智能手机 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted January 4, 2018 at 03:09 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 03:09 PM I've seen 老人手机 too for a phone with big buttons suitable/easy read display etc for the older citizen, think it covers both smart and 'dumb' models. Used when buying and selling them only I presume. .... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted January 4, 2018 at 04:22 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2018 at 04:22 PM 1 hour ago, imron said: 智能手机 Excellent, thank you sir! The more I browse this forum the more I realise my Chinese is rapidly degrading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted January 6, 2018 at 12:06 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 at 12:06 PM On 1/4/2018 at 9:02 PM, Christa said: 手機 is the standard term for normal, everyday conversation, isn't it? Yes, I think so. I hear 功能手机 and 老人手机 to tell the two kinds apart: "smartphone" vs. "dumb phone," usually with big numbers. And of course there is 二手手机 said quickly as you walk by the phone shops by the people sitting on stools out front. Pretty sure I've sometimes seen it abbreviated as "二手机“ on the handwritten signs these folks sometimes show to passersby 行人。 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted January 6, 2018 at 01:59 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 at 01:59 PM 1 hour ago, abcdefg said: I hear 功能手机 and 老人手机 to tell the two kinds apart: "smartphone" vs. "dumb phone," 功能手机 is not what you think it is. It's a literal translation of the English 'feature phone' which despite the name means a phone without most of the features of a smart phone. It's only a short step above a dumb phone in terms of features. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
889 Posted January 6, 2018 at 03:59 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 at 03:59 PM Then there's that testing sign you sometimes see in phone malls, 收售二手机. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lips Posted January 6, 2018 at 05:16 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2018 at 05:16 PM The parsing of 二手机 is 二手....机：second hand .... machine(phone). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted January 8, 2018 at 03:07 AM Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 at 03:07 AM Thanks, @imron -- Appreciate your setting me straight on that. So my Xiaomi5 or my friend's iPhone7 are not 功能收集，both are 智能手机? Does a 功能手机 connect to the internet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted January 8, 2018 at 04:37 AM Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 at 04:37 AM An iPhone7 is definitely a 智能手机 I don't know anything about xiaomi5 but if it's android it's almost certainly a smartphone too. Feature phones can connect to the Internet, but maybe in a limited way compared to a smart phone (e.g. Maybe it gets weather or other data streams but doesn't have a fully featured browser). The wikipedia entry on feature phones has a good overview of their capabilities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature_phone 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted January 8, 2018 at 11:34 AM Report Share Posted January 8, 2018 at 11:34 AM when you browse for them on JingDong, TMall they just come up as 手机 and sorting from cheapest to most expensive it's just referred to 2G for the cheapest. I assume in time the use of the word "smart phone" (chinese and english) will disappear entirely from common use. I don't see that classification in the shops in the UK either now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted January 9, 2018 at 01:37 AM Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 at 01:37 AM 20 hours ago, imron said: Feature phones can connect to the Internet, but maybe in a limited way compared to a smart phone (e.g. Maybe it gets weather or other data streams but doesn't have a fully featured browser). Thanks. I read the Wikipedia article. Turns out I didn't know these phones existed and had at best a very fuzzy idea of their niche in the spectrum of available mobile phones on the market today. My Xiaomi 5 is a very capable, full-featured smart phone; in fact, it is much smarter than its owner, namely the guy who is writing this post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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