to dial; to make a phone call

Slow play

Gesture

Position

Classification

Action description

Straighten the thumb and pinky of one hand, place the sign beside your ear. The sign signifies a handset. Draw circles with the other index finger to mimic the action of dialing a rotary dial.

Example sentence

Lao Wang will come here later. I have called him.
Come help me. I can make a phone call first and clap my hands and then you can tell him. He will understand and it is more efficient.
I can’t speak, let alone talking on the phone. So I clap my hands instead, and they get it. If it were other people, they’d be weirded out by the claps when they pick up the phone. That is why I only call them two. Only they know clapping means I’m inviting them over. This is only works for the three of us. It’s our secret signal.
Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Let's call him later.
The phone was on but no one picked it up.

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