20 Phrasal Verbs with CALL | CALL英文片語動詞完整指南

本文重點: 本文整理20個CALL英文片語動詞，包含call off、call up、call out、call back等常見用法，每個搭配中英例句與職場應用說明。適合台灣英文學習者與上班族，快速掌握CALL動詞用法。

The verb “call” is one of the most productive words in English when it comes to phrasal verbs (片語動詞). Native speakers use CALL combinations dozens of times a day — in meetings, on the phone, in emails, and in casual conversation. If you’ve been treating “call” as just a word for making phone calls, you’re missing a large chunk of everyday English.

This guide covers all 20 essential CALL phrasal verbs in four categories: phone communication, cancellation and scheduling, authority and confrontation, and idiomatic expressions. Every verb includes a clear definition, a natural example sentence, and practical notes for Taiwan professionals.

CALL Phrasal Verbs — Quick Reference Table | CALL片語動詞速查表

Call up and call back are two of the most frequently used CALL phrasal verbs in daily office life.

Phone & Communication Phrasal Verbs | 電話溝通類片語動詞

These five CALL phrasal verbs (片語動詞) come up in almost every phone conversation and are the ones most Taiwan professionals encounter first. Learn them in order — they build on each other naturally.

1. Call up — 打電話給某人；召集

Call up means to phone someone (especially in American English) or, in a more formal sense, to summon someone for duty — such as being called up to serve in the military.

Example sentences:

• Anh ta called up his client to confirm the appointment. (他打電話給客戶確認會面時間。)
• The company called up its reserve staff when the project expanded. (當專案擴大時，公司召集了備用員工。)

Note for Taiwan learners: In everyday Taiwanese office English, “call up” and “give someone a call” are interchangeable. “I’ll call him up this afternoon” sounds natural and professional.

2. Call back — 回電

Call back means to return a phone call that someone made to you. It’s one of the most frequent phrases you’ll hear in any business context.

Example sentences:

• I’m in a meeting right now. Can I call you back in 20 minutes? (我現在在開會，我能20分鐘後回電給你嗎？)
• Cô ấy called back as soon as she saw the missed call. (她一看到未接來電就馬上回電了。)

Important: The pronoun goes in the middle — “call you back” not “call back you.” This is a separable phrasal verb (可分離片語動詞), so the object comes between the verb and the particle when it’s a pronoun.

3. Call in — 打電話請假；電話報到

Call in has two related uses. First, it means to phone somewhere — usually your workplace — to report something. “Call in sick” is the most common pattern. Second, it means to phone a radio or TV show to participate.

Example sentences:

• Anh ta called in sick on Monday because he had a fever. (他週一打電話請病假，因為他發燒了。)
• Hundreds of listeners called in during the live radio debate. (在現場廣播辯論期間，數百位聽眾打電話進來。)
• The manager called in a specialist to review the contract. (經理請來一位專家審查合約。)

4. Call around — 打電話詢問多人

Call around means to phone several different people or places to find information or get something done.

Example sentences:

• I’ll call around to find a venue that’s available this Friday. (我會打電話詢問，找個本週五可以使用的場地。)
• Cô ấy called around to a few suppliers before choosing the best price. (她打電話詢問幾家供應商，再選最好的價格。)

5. Call ahead — 提前打電話預約

Call ahead means to phone a place before you arrive to make sure they’re ready for you, or to make a reservation.

Example sentences:

• You should always call ahead before visiting a government office — hours change frequently. (去政府機關前最好先打電話，因為辦公時間常常更動。)
• I called ahead to let them know we’d be late. (我提前打電話告訴他們我們會遲到。)

Call off means to cancel — it’s the natural choice any time a plan gets scrapped at the last minute.

Cancellation & Scheduling | 取消與行程安排

6. Call off — 取消

Call off is the standard English phrase for cancelling a plan, event, meeting, or agreement. It works for anything from a small coffee meeting to a major business deal.

Example sentences:

• Họ called off the product launch because the software wasn’t ready. (他們取消了產品發佈會，因為軟體還沒有準備好。)
• The outdoor event was called off due to the typhoon warning. (因為颱風警報，戶外活動被取消了。)
• The two companies called off the merger talks after months of negotiation. (兩家公司在幾個月的談判後放棄了合併計畫。)

Ghi chú: “Call off” and “cancel” are interchangeable in most cases, but “call off” sounds more natural in spoken English. In a meeting, “We need to call this off” sounds more natural than “We need to cancel this.”

7. Call together — 召集開會

Call together means to bring a group of people together for a meeting or discussion — usually with some authority or urgency.

Example sentences:

• The CEO called the team together for an emergency briefing. (執行長把整個團隊召集起來，進行緊急簡報。)
• Cô ấy called the committee together to discuss the budget shortfall. (她召集委員會討論預算短缺問題。)

Call out means to challenge or confront — a phrase you need to recognize when it happens to you.

Authority & Confrontation | 權威與對質類

8. Call out — 點名；公開質疑

Call out has two important meanings. In a literal sense, it means to shout or announce something — “call out the name.” In its now-dominant modern usage, it means to publicly challenge or criticize someone for bad behavior or wrong information. This meaning comes up constantly in news, social media, and workplace English.

Example sentences:

• Cô ấy called him out in front of the whole team for missing the deadline again. (她當著整個團隊的面公開點名批評他又一次錯過截止日期。)
• The journalist called out the company for misleading its customers. (記者公開批評那家公司誤導消費者。)
• The teacher called out the students’ names one by one. (老師逐一叫出學生的名字。)

Taiwan context: The confrontational meaning of “call out” can feel aggressive, but in English it’s a neutral, everyday phrase. Hearing “I’m going to call you out on this” from a colleague doesn’t mean a fight is coming — it just means they disagree and plan to say so openly. Understanding this prevents a lot of miscommunication in international meetings.

9. Call on — 點名發言；拜訪

Call on has two common meanings. In an academic or meeting context, it means to select someone to speak or answer. In a business or social context, it means to visit someone formally.

Example sentences:

• The professor called on three students to present their analysis. (教授點名了三位學生來報告他們的分析。)
• Our sales team calls on major clients every quarter. (我們的銷售團隊每季拜訪主要客戶。)
• I’d like to call on Ms. Chen to share her perspective on this. (我想請陳小姐分享她對這件事的看法。)

10. Call over — 叫某人過來

Call over means to signal or call to someone to come to where you are — usually in a casual or semi-formal situation.

Example sentences:

• The manager called her assistant over to take notes during the discussion. (經理叫助理過來，在討論期間做記錄。)
• Anh ta called the waiter over to ask for the bill. (他叫服務生過來要帳單。)

11. Call for — 要求；需要

Call for means to demand something, or to describe what a situation requires. It’s a common phrase in news, policy, and business discussions.

Example sentences:

• The situation calls for immediate action. (這個情況需要立即採取行動。)
• Several board members called for a review of the company’s expense policy. (幾位董事會成員要求審查公司的費用政策。)
• This kind of error calls for a full audit. (這種錯誤需要進行全面審計。)

Call in and call for are two distinct verbs with very different meanings — both come up often.

Formal & Written English | 正式書面用語

12. Call upon — 正式邀請；呼籲

Call upon is the formal version of “call on.” It appears in speeches, official documents, and formal writing. The meaning is to formally request or summon someone to do something.

Example sentences:

• The chairman called upon all members to vote before the end of the session. (主席正式邀請所有成員在會議結束前投票。)
• The government called upon citizens to conserve water during the drought. (政府呼籲市民在乾旱期間節約用水。)

Ghi chú: If you’re giving a speech or writing a formal report, use “call upon.” In everyday speech, “call on” works fine.

13. Call forth — 喚起；激發

Call forth means to bring out a quality, emotion, or response — to cause something to come into being. It’s literary and formal, appearing more in writing than in speech.

Example sentences:

• Her speech called forth a wave of emotion in the audience. (她的演講在觀眾中引發了強烈的情感共鳴。)
• The crisis called forth the team’s best problem-solving instincts. (這場危機激發了團隊最佳的解決問題本能。)

14. Call into question — 質疑；使人懷疑

Call into question means to raise doubts about something — to make people question whether something is true, valid, or reliable. It’s a common phrase in academic writing, news reports, and formal business discussions.

Example sentences:

• The audit findings called into question the accuracy of the financial reports. (審計結果讓人質疑財務報告的準確性。)
• His repeated absences have called his commitment to the project into question. (他一再缺席，使人質疑他對這個專案的投入程度。)

For more on formal language patterns used in professional reports and meetings, see the guide on phrasal verbs for business English — it covers the vocabulary you need to sound polished in written and spoken formal English.

15. Call to order — 宣佈開會

Call to order means to formally begin a meeting — the chairperson announces that the meeting is starting and everyone should pay attention. It’s a set phrase from formal meeting procedure (議事程序).

Example sentences:

• The board chair called the meeting to order at exactly 9:00 AM. (董事長在早上9點準時宣佈開會。)
• After everyone was seated, she called the session to order and read the agenda. (大家就座後，她宣佈會議開始並宣讀議程。)

For Taiwan professionals, knowing CALL phrasal verbs closes a real gap in spoken workplace English.

English Idioms with CALL | CALL相關英文慣用語

The following five expressions are fixed idioms (固定慣用語) — they don’t follow normal grammar rules, and their meaning can’t be guessed from the individual words. Treat them as complete units and memorize them as-is.

16. Call it a day — 今天到此為止；收工

Kết thúc ngày hôm nay means to stop working or to end an activity for the day. It signals that you’ve done enough and it’s time to stop.

Example sentences:

• “It’s almost 7 PM and we’ve covered everything on the agenda. Let’s call it a day."” (現在快晚上7點了，我們已經討論完議程上的所有事項。今天就到這裡吧。)
• After six hours of work on the proposal, she decided to call it a day and finish the rest in the morning. (在提案上工作了六個小時後，她決定今天就到此為止，剩下的留到明天早上完成。)

17. Call it quits — 結束；放棄

Call it quits means to permanently end something — a job, a relationship, a business partnership, or a project. It suggests a definitive decision, not just a pause.

Example sentences:

• After three years of losses, the two business partners decided to call it quits. (三年虧損後，兩位商業夥伴決定結束合作。)
• Anh ta called it quits at the company after realizing there was no path to promotion. (他意識到沒有晉升機會後，決定離開這家公司。)

Difference from “call it a day”: “Call it a day” is temporary — you’ll be back tomorrow. “Call it quits” is permanent — the thing is over.

18. Call the shots — 說了算；做決定

Call the shots means to be the person in charge — to make the key decisions. It comes from shooting sports, where one person decides the direction of play.

Example sentences:

• Since the founder retired, it’s her son who calls the shots at the company. (自從創辦人退休後，做主的就是他的兒子了。)
• “Who calls the shots on budget decisions in your department?” (「你們部門誰說了算，負責預算決策？」)

The 20 CALL phrasal verbs in this guide cover the full range from basic to advanced idioms.

19. Call someone’s bluff — 拆穿虛張聲勢；逼對方攤牌

Call someone’s bluff means to challenge someone who is making a threat or claim you believe they can’t back up — to force them to prove they mean what they say. The phrase comes from poker (撲克牌), where “bluffing” means betting as if you have a strong hand when you don’t.

Example sentences:

• When the contractor threatened to walk off the project, the client called his bluff — and the contractor backed down. (當承包商威脅要放棄專案時，客戶逼他攤牌，結果承包商退縮了。)
• “I think he’s bluffing about the other job offer. Someone should call his bluff."” (「我覺得他說有其他工作機會是虛張聲勢。有人應該逼他攤牌。」)

20. Don’t call us, we’ll call you — 別等我們通知了（婉拒）

“Don’t call us, we’ll call you” is a classic dismissal phrase, often used after a job interview when the interviewer doesn’t want to commit to anything — or when a recruiter is politely telling you that you won’t be hearing back. It’s used ironically in everyday speech to mean “that’s not going to happen.”

Example sentences:

• After the interview, all the panel said was “We’ll be in touch.” Translation: don’t call us, we’ll call you. (面試結束後，評審只說「我們會聯繫你」，這其實就是委婉的拒絕。)
• He pitched the idea to three VCs and got the classic “don’t call us, we’ll call you” from all of them. (他向三家創投公司提案，全部都委婉拒絕了他。)

Call to order and call the shots are the two most formal idioms in the CALL family.

Watch: Phrasal Verbs with CALL | 影片：CALL片語動詞教學

This video lesson covers the most common CALL phrasal verbs with natural spoken examples — useful for hearing how these phrases sound in real conversation:

Common Mistakes with CALL Phrasal Verbs | 常見錯誤

These three errors come up consistently when Taiwan learners use CALL phrasal verbs in writing and speaking:

1. Separating inseparable phrasal verbs incorrectly. Some CALL phrasal verbs are separable (可分離), meaning the object goes between the verb and particle: “call it off,” “call him back,” “call her over.” Others work better as a unit: “call for action,” not “call action for.” When in doubt, keep the phrase together and check.

2. Translating 取消 directly. Many learners say “cancel the meeting” but forget “call off” — even though “call off” is what you’d more naturally hear from a native speaker in a spoken update. Practice both, but lean toward “call off” in speech.

3. Confusing “call on” and “call upon.” They mean the same thing, but “call upon” is formal and belongs in speeches and written documents. “Call on” is neutral and works everywhere. Using “call upon” in a casual chat sounds stiff; using “call on” in a speech is fine.

For more on how particles change verb meanings, the guide on phrasal verb particles (up, out, off, down, on) explains the logic behind the most common particle patterns — which makes learning new phrasal verbs much faster.

Practice Exercises | 練習題

Fill in the blank with the correct CALL phrasal verb. Answers below.

1. The typhoon warning meant we had to ____________ the outdoor event. (取消)
2. I missed your message earlier — I’ll ____________ as soon as I’m free. (回電)
3. The CEO ____________ the entire department ____________ for an urgent briefing. (召集)
4. The new report has ____________ the safety data ____________. (質疑)
5. It’s already 9 PM. Let’s ____________ and finish this tomorrow. (今天到此為止)
6. In this company, it’s the CFO who really ____________. (說了算)
7. Before going to the restaurant, you should ____________ to check if they have tables. (提前預約)
8. The government ____________ all citizens to reduce energy use. (正式呼籲)

Answers:

1. call off
2. call you back
3. called together / called the department together
4. called the safety data into question
5. call it a day
6. calls the shots
7. call ahead
8. called upon

If you want to expand your phrasal verb knowledge beyond CALL, the article on phrasal verbs with BREAK covers 20 more essential verbs using the same category-based format — a natural next step after mastering this list.

Sources | 參考資料

1. British Council — Phrasal Verbs — B1–B2 grammar reference covering phrasal verb structure, separability, and common patterns with examples
2. BBC Learning English — 6 Minute Vocabulary: Phrasal Verbs — Audio and transcript walkthrough of high-frequency phrasal verbs in natural spoken context
3. Cambridge Dictionary — Phrasal Verbs — Authoritative reference for phrasal verb definitions, separability rules, and usage notes across British and American English