Is it okay to ask 你的电话号码是什么?

Question

Is it ok to ask:

你的电话号码是什么? (What is your telephone number)

Or do I have to say:

你的电话号码是多少? which is the translation on Duolingo.

Also, can I just say:

"你的电话是多少?

because 电话 already means phone number.

Answer 1

I'd say all of your sentences are used in practice within the mainland.

These are all correct expressions:

1. 你的电话号码是什么？

2. 你的电话号码是多少？

3. 你的电话是多少？

Colloquially, we even brief it like 你电话多少？ or 电话多少？

Hope this could help you.

Answer 2

It depends on how you look at the "numbers". Someone think they are words, especially when there are "-" sign or space between the numbers, so they ask "what". On the other hand, someone think they are pure numbers, so they ask "how many / much". But both of them are understandable for native speakers.

Answer 3

You should know although telephone numbers are not quantity, but still made of digits. So people say it in both form. This also applies to street number or zip code.

Answer 4

• 是什么 /shi shenme/ = 'is what'

• 是多少 /shi duoshao/ = 'is how many'

A telephone number is not an amount or quantity, It is a specific code made up of numbers, not unlike an serial number made up of numbers . If you don't say "你手机的 serial number 是多少", then you shouldn't say "你的电话是多少"

We always ask people " what is your phone number?" instead of "how many is your phone number"

The correct answer is "你的电话号码是什么" /Nide dianhua haoma shi shenme/

Also, Can I just say, "Nide dianhua shi duoshao?"

No, it means "你的电话是多少" (your telephone is how many), which doesn't make sense; If you say "你的电话是什么" people would understand you meant "你的电话号码是什么" (omitted 号码). But, grammatically 电话 /dianhua/ only means "telephone" , you need to add 号码 and say "电话号码" if you meant to ask "what is someone's phone number" instead of "what brand someone's telephone is"