reverse the charges

reverse the charges — 慣用語

1. to call someone by telephone in such a way that the cost of the call is billed t

1.慣用語B1
釋義

對方付費

由接聽方支付通話費用

to call someone by telephone in such a way that the cost of the call is billed to the person you are calling rather than to you

例句

Mayumi called her brother in Osaka and reversed the charges for the call.

Mayumi 打電話給在大阪的哥哥，並以對方付費方式通話。

When Adina's phone ran out of credit, she reversed the charges from a hotel phone.

Adina 的手機餘額不足，於是她從飯店的電話使用對方付費打給媽媽。

context: caller has no credit, uses third-party phone

同義詞
  • call collect

    American English equivalent; used as a verb phrase ('call collect') rather than 'reverse the charges'

文法句型

[person] + reverse + the + charges + [prepositional phrase]

用法筆記

This idiom is standard in British English. The American English equivalent is 'call collect.' The noun is always plural — 'the charges,' never 'the charge.' The verb 'reverse' can be conjugated through all tenses (reversed, reverses, reversing).

常見錯誤

❌I reversed the charge to my mother.
✅I reversed the charges when I called my mother.
💡The phrase always uses the plural 'charges.'
❌I reverse-charged the call to my office.
✅I reversed the charges on the call to my office.
💡'Reverse the charges' is a fixed phrase; do not hyphenate it as a compound verb.
❌She reversed the charges call.
✅She reversed the charges on the call.
💡The preposition 'on' is needed to link the phrase to the call.