Image Credit: Fancycrave1 on Pixabay
In this post we’re going to look at Chinese vocabulary and expressions that will help you talk about computers, emails, social media, and the internet.
我的电脑 wǒ de diànnǎo My Computer
Let’s start with some basic vocabulary that will help you talk about computer hardware: 一台电脑 yī tái diànnǎo (a computer), 一台笔记本电脑 yī tái bǐjìběn diànnǎo (a laptop), 台式机 táishì jī (a desktop), 屏幕 píngmù (a screen), 键盘 jiànpán (a keyboard), 鼠标 shǔbiāo (a mouse), 鼠标垫 shǔbiāo diàn (a mouse pad), 打印机 dǎyìnjī (a printer), 电池 diànchí (a battery), 电源线 diànyuán xiàn (a power cord), 网络摄像头 wǎngluò shèxiàngtóu (a webcam), 麦克风 màikèfēng (a microphone), 耳机 ěrjī (a headset), 智能手机 zhìnéng shǒujī (a smartphone), 平板电脑 píngbǎn diànnǎo (a tablet).
- 我得买一台新电脑。
Wǒ děi mǎi yī tái xīn diànnǎo.
I need to buy a new computer. - 你有笔记本电脑还是台式机?
Nǐ yǒu bǐjìběn diànnǎo háishì táishì jī?
Do you have a laptop or a desktop?
- 我的屏幕碎了。
Wǒ de píngmù suìle.
My screen is cracked. - 我的键盘坏了。
Wǒ de jiànpán huàile.
My keyboard is broken. - 我得给我的笔记本电脑/手机充电。
Wǒ děi gěi wǒ de bǐjìběn diànnǎo/ shǒujī chōngdiàn.
I have to recharge my laptop/phone. - 我的鼠标需要一块新电池。
Wǒ de shǔbiāo xūyào yīkuài xīn diànchí.
I need a new battery for my mouse. - 我的网络摄像头是开/关的。
Wǒ de wǎngluò shèxiàngtóu shì kāi/ guān de.
My webcam is on/off. - 我可以借耳机参加会议吗?
Wǒ kěyǐ jiè ěrjī cānjiā huìyì ma?
Can I borrow a headset for my meeting? - 我不用电脑。我可以在平板电脑上做任何事情。
Wǒ bù yòng diànnǎo. Wǒ kěyǐ zài píngbǎn diànnǎo shàng zuò rènhé shìqíng.
I don’t use a computer. I can do everything on my tablet.
电子邮件 Diànzǐ yóujiàn Email
Now let’s look at some vocabulary that you can use to talk about email: 一封电邮 yī fēng diànyóu (an email), 发送电子邮件 fāsòng diànzǐ yóujiàn (to send an email), 接收电子邮件 jiēshōu diànzǐ yóujiàn (to get/receive an email), 附件 fùjiàn (attachment), 附加照片/文件 fùjiā zhàopiàn/wénjiàn (to attach a photo/file), 回复电子邮件 huífù diànzǐ yóujiàn (to reply to an email), 全部回复 quánbù huífù (to reply all), 转发电子邮件 zhuǎnfā diànzǐ yóujiàn (to forward an email).
- 我得检查我的电子邮件。
Wǒ děi jiǎnchá wǒ de diànzǐ yóujiàn.
I need to check my email. - 你的电子邮件地址是什么?
Nǐ de diànzǐ yóujiàn dìzhǐ shì shénme?
What’s your email address? - 我正在给我的朋友/老板/同事写一封电子邮件。
Wǒ zhèngzài gěi wǒ de péngyǒu/lǎobǎn/tóngshì xiě yī fēng diànzǐ yóujiàn.
I’m writing an email to my friend/boss/colleague. - 我收到太多电子邮件。
Wǒ shōu dào tài duō diànzǐ yóujiàn.
I get too many emails. - 我忘了附件。
Wǒ wàngle fùjiàn.
I forgot the attachment. - 请全部回复。
Qǐng quánbù huífù.
Please reply all. - 请只回复我。
Qǐng zhǐ huífù wǒ.
Please reply just to me. - 你能把电子邮件转发给我吗?
Nǐ néng bǎ diànzǐ yóujiàn zhuǎnfā gěi wǒ ma?
Could you forward the email to me?
短信和应用程序 Duǎnxìn hé Yìngyòng chéngxù Text Messages and Apps
If you’re sending a text message instead of an email, you’ll need to know: 短信 duǎnxìn (a text), 消息 xiāoxī (a message), 发送短信 fāsòng duǎnxìn (to send a text), 获取/接收短信 huòqǔ/jiēshōu duǎnxìn (to get/receive a text), 回覆短信 huífù duǎnxìn (to answer a text), 发送群发短信 fāsòng qúnfā duǎnxìn (to send a group text), 应用程序 yìngyòng chéngxù (an app),下载应用程序 xiàzài yìngyòng chéngxù (to download an app), 更新应用程序 gēngxīn yìngyòng chéngxù (to update an app), 删除应用程序 shānchú yìngyòng chéngxù (to delete an app).
- 我收到一条短信/消息。
Wǒ shōu dào yītiáo duǎnxìn/xiāoxī.
I’m getting a text/message. - 我给你发短信。
Wǒ gěi nǐ fā duǎnxìn.
I’ll send you a text. - 请把地址发短信给我。
Qǐng bǎ dìzhǐ fā duǎnxìn gěi wǒ.
Text me the address, please. - 我正在给我的男朋友/女朋友写短信。
Wǒ zhèngzài gěi wǒ de nán péngyǒu/nǚ péngyǒu xiě duǎnxìn.
I’m writing a text to my boyfriend/girlfriend. - 我在群里发了一条消息。
Wǒ zài qún lǐ fāle yītiáo xiāoxī.
I sent a message to the group. - 开车时不要发短信!
Kāichē shí bùyào fā duǎn xìn!
Don’t send texts while you’re driving! - 我没有收到你的短信,我没有信号。
Wǒ méiyǒu shōu dào nǐ de duǎn xìn, wǒ méiyǒu xìnhào.
I didn’t get your text, I had no signal. - 你用 WhatsApp 或其他短信应用程序吗?
Nín shǐyòng WhatsApp huò qítā duǎnxìn yìngyòng chéngxù ma?
Do you use WhatsApp or another messaging app? - 这是一个很棒的应用程序,但它不是免费的。
Zhè shì yīgè hěn bàng de yìngyòng chéngxù, dàn tā bùshì miǎnfèi de.
This is a great app, but it’s not free. - 我删除了那个应用程序,因为我从不用它。
Wǒ shānchúle nàgè yìngyòng chéngxù, yīnwèi wǒ cóng bù yòng tā.
I deleted that app because I never use it. - 这个应用程序让我的手机崩溃了。
Zhège yìngyòng chéngxù ràng wǒ de shǒujī bēngkuìle.
This app made my phone crash. - 我的手机/平板电脑上有太多应用程序。
Wǒ de shǒujī/píngbǎn diànnǎo shàng yǒu tài duō yìngyòng chéngxù.
I have too many apps on my phone/tablet.
互联网 Hùliánwǎng The Internet
Here’s some vocabulary that will help you talk about the most common things that you do online: 高速互联网 gāosù hùliánwǎng (high speed internet), 网站 wǎngzhàn (website), 网页 wǎngyè (webpage), 连结 liánjié (link), 网址 wǎngzhǐ (URL), 浏览器 liúlǎn qì (browser), 搜索引擎 sōusuǒ yǐnqíng (search engine), 上网 shàngwǎng (to go online), 上传 shàngchuán (to upload), 下载 xiàzài (to download), 路由器 lùyóuqì (router), 调制解调器 tiáozhìjiětiáoqì (modem), 无线上网 wúxiàn shàngwǎng (WiFi), 登录 dēnglù (to log in), 登出 dēngchū (to log off).
- 我在网上阅读了很多博客/报纸/文章。
Wǒ zài wǎng shàng yuèdúle hěnduō bókè/bàozhǐ/wénzhāng.
I read a lot of blogs/newspapers/articles online. - 我花很多时间上网。
Wǒ huā hěnduō shíjiān shàngwǎng.
I spend a lot of time online. - 我有一个数位/线上订阅。
Wǒ yǒu yīgè shùwèi/xiànshàng dìngyuè.
I have a digital/online subscription. - 我忘记了我的密码。
Wǒ wàngjìle wǒ de mìmǎ.
I forgot my password. - 我正在上传文件/我的简历。
Wǒ zhèngzài shàngchuán wénjiàn/wǒ de jiǎnlì.
I’m uploading a file/my CV. - 我正在下载歌曲/照片。
Wǒ zhèngzài xiàzài gēqǔ/zhàopiàn.
I’m downloading a song/photo. - 我无法上网,我需要重新启动我的路由器。
Wǒ wúfǎ shàngwǎng, wǒ xūyào chóngxīn qǐdòng wǒ de lùyóuqì.
I can’t get online, I need to restart my router. - 五分钟后我有一个视频通话。
Wǔ fēnzhōng hòu wǒ yǒu yīgè shìpín tōnghuà.
I have a video call in five minutes. - 我能听到你的声音,但视频被冻结了。
Wǒ néng tīngdào nǐ de shēngyīn, dàn shìpín bèi dòngjiéle.
I can hear you, but the video is frozen. - 我需要登录会议吗?
Wǒ xūyào dēnglù huìyì ma?
Do I need to sign in to the meeting? - 我要登出重新开始会议。
Wǒ yào dēngchū chóngxīn kāishǐ huìyì.
I’ll log off and restart the meeting. - 我需要好的互联网,因为我远程工作。
Wǒ xūyào hǎo de hùliánwǎng fúwù, yīnwèi wǒ yuǎnchéng gōngzuò.
I need good internet service because I work remotely. - 你的WiFi密码是多少?
Nǐ de WiFi mìmǎ shì duōshǎo?
What’s your WiFi password? - 你有一个网站吗?网址是什么?
Nǐ yǒu yīgè wǎngzhàn ma? Wǎngzhǐ shì shénme?
Do you have a website? What’s the URL?
社交媒体 Shèjiāo méitǐ Social media
Of course, if you’re talking about the internet you may want to talk about social media: 使用社交媒体 shǐyòng shèjiāo méitǐ (to use social media), 在脸书/推特上 zài liǎn shū/tuī tè shàng (to be on Facebook/Twitter), 在 Instagram/LinkedIn 上有一个帐户 zài Instagram/LinkedIn shàng yǒu yīgè zhànghù (to have an account on Instagram/LinkedIn), 关注一个账户 guānzhù yīgè zhànghù (to follow an account), 按赞一个帖子 àn zàn yīgè tiězi (to like a post), 发表评论 fābiǎo pínglùn (to leave a comment), 回复评论 huífù pínglùn (to reply to a comment), 发布照片 fābù zhàopiàn (to post a photo), 删除帐户 shānchú zhànghù (to delete an account).
- 你使用社交媒体吗?
Nǐ shǐyòng shèjiāo méitǐ ma?
Do you use social media? - 你在脸书/推特上吗?
Nǐ zài Liǎn shū/Tuī tè shàng ma?
Are you on Facebook / Twitter? - 我喜欢你的个人照片!
Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ de gèrén zīliào zhàopiàn!
I love your profile picture! - 我在社交媒体上发布了很多照片。
Wǒ zài shèjiāo méitǐ shàng fābùle hěnduō zhàopiàn.
I post a lot of photos on social media. - 我对一篇文章/博客文章发表了评论。
Wǒ duì yī piān wénzhāng/bókè wénzhāng fābiǎole pínglùn.
I left a comment on an article / blog post. - 我在 Instagram 上关注他/她。
Wǒ zài Instagram shàng guān zhù tā/tā.
I follow him/her on Instagram. - 他在LinkedIn上发了很多帖子。
Tā zài LinkedIn shàng fāle hěnduō tiězi.
He posts a lot on LinkedIn. - 你为什么发这个?
Nǐ wèishéme fā zhège?
Why did you post that? - 我希望我没有发那个推文。
Wǒ xīwàng wǒ méiyǒu fā nàge tuī wén.
I wish I hadn’t tweeted that. - 他/她删除了推文。
Tā/tā shānchúle tuī wén.
He/She deleted the tweet. - 你有很多 Facebook 好友!
Nǐ yǒu hěnduō Facebook hǎoyǒu!
You have a lot of Facebook friends! - 他/她向我发送了好友请求。
Tā/tā xiàng wǒ fāsòngle hǎoyǒu qǐngqiú.
He/She sent me a friend request. - 你不应该在社交媒体上和陌生人争论。
Nǐ bù yìng gāi zài shèjiāo méitǐ shàng hé mòshēng rén zhēnglùn.
You shouldn’t argue with strangers on social media. - 我讨厌社交媒体。我要删除我所有的帐户!
Wǒ tǎoyàn shèjiāo méitǐ. Wǒ yào shānchú wǒ suǒyǒu de zhànghù!
I hate social media. I’m deleting all of my accounts!
Do you want to learn Chinese?
Check out our other posts on Chinese language, culture, and more. And if you’re looking for convenient and affordable live Chinese lessons with a real teacher, check out The Language Garage. Our lessons are given online in a virtual classroom, so it doesn’t matter where you live or work – we can come to you. And we have flexible options, with a free trial so that you can decide if there’s a fit. Check us out!