接电话也说在工作
“When she answered the phone, she'd say she was working.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
“I'd send her messages, but she rarely replied.”
接电话 也 说在工作
“When she answered the phone, she'd say she was working.”
“She is just brushing me off and doesn't want to talk to me.”
In high-pressure modern Chinese society, claiming to be busy at work is a common face-saving way to maintain distance or decline interactions without causing overt conflict.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
answer the phone
Everyday collocation for answering an incoming call.
busy working
A frequent justification or brush-off used in personal communications.
Adverb used here to emphasize an extreme or additive case, highlighting that even when contact occurs, the outcome is unsatisfactory.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“I got a few work calls and got sidetracked.”
“Don't interrupt when I'm on a work call.”
“kill you or what?”
“I called him,”
“I need to take this call. You can go ahead with your work.”
“Why aren't you answering my call?”