1.
telephone receiver; handset
The part of a telephone that you hold to your ear and speak into. By extension, also used for the handset of a landline phone as a whole. Composed of 受 (receive) + 話 (speech) + 器 (device).
Usage
受話器 typically refers to landline phone handsets. With mobile phones, the term is less common, though it may appear in figurative or literary contexts.
Common collocations
- 受話器を取る (pick up the receiver)
- 受話器を置く (hang up the receiver)
- 受話器を握る (grip the receiver)
- 受話器を耳に当てる (hold the receiver to one's ear)
Similar words
送話器 is the mouthpiece/transmitter (the part you speak into), while 受話器 originally meant the earpiece but now generally refers to the entire handset.