<p><code>回答</code>often used when somebody answer your question, usually face to face.
<code>回复</code>often used when they reply you via text or phone.
<code>回应</code>is used when you done something, others do another thing in respond.
<code>答复</code>is used when you ask question or have some petition to the government or other big agency, you will get a respond from them.  </p>

<p>In your example,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"I'm so sorry I took so long to respond to your message!"  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>should use <code>回复</code></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"‘Of course!' the man replied!"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>should use <code>回答</code></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"I waited for a long time, but still no response"</p>
</blockquote>

<p>should use <code>答复</code></p>

<p>as for</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>"He was not happy with my reply"  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>it will mainly rely on the context you are in,</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-12T01:28:00.300Z
2014-10-12T01:28:00.300Z
billyho
<p>I am trying to understand the appropriate way to say "reply" or "respond."  Could you please help me disambiguate the above listed ways of saying "to reply，" and any other that are commonly used?  I assume they cannot be used interchangeably?</p>

<p>The examples that come to mind for every day usage are the following, but please do not necessarily restrict your answer to these examples:</p>

<p>"I'm so sorry I took so long to respond to your message!"</p>

<p>"He was not happy with my reply"</p>

<p>"‘Of course!' the man replied!"</p>

<p>"I waited for a long time, but still no response"</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-11T20:28:07.303Z
question answered by（online）dictionaries （among English equivalents could include ＂answer， feedback＂，回答 functions both as noun as well as verb，（there also is the noun 答案），回复 mainly functions as noun，also means reversion／restoration and can be used in the latter sense as verb，e。g。回复原状、答复 noun （formal reply），also
functions as verb，e。g。答复读者提问，回应 is a noun
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-10-13T05:59:42.177Z
回应 also is a verb, cf. Wikipedia on 保钓运动: ...是由香港、台湾民众和海外华人为了回应钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿主权问题而发起的一系列民间运动...
user6065
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-11T02:27:47.493Z
All the four word can be noun and verb. 回答: answer, 回复: reply, 回应: reply, response, 答复 is sometimes interchangeable with 回答, 回复 or 回应.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-19T16:39:55.290Z
just received this one from my teacher.
不好意思，这两天我太忙了，没有时间给你回信。
jmpaq
<word-choice>
回答 vs. 回复 vs. 回应 vs.答复： What is proper usage?
# 回答 vs. 回复 vs. 回应 vs.答复： What is proper usage?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-10-11)

I am trying to understand the appropriate way to say "reply" or "respond." Could you please help me disambiguate the above listed ways of saying "to reply，" and any other that are commonly used? I assume they cannot be used interchangeably?

The examples that come to mind for every day usage are the following, but please do not necessarily restrict your answer to these examples:

"I'm so sorry I took so long to respond to your message!"

"He was not happy with my reply"

"‘Of course!' the man replied!"

"I waited for a long time, but still no response"

**Tags:** word-choice

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: question answered by（online）dictionaries （among English equivalents could include ＂answer， feedback＂，回答 functions both as noun as well as verb，（there also is the noun 答案），回复 mainly functions as noun，also means reversion／restoration and can be used in the latter sense as verb，e。g。回复原状、答复 noun （formal reply），also functions as verb，e。g。答复读者提问，回应 is a noun  
> **username_1**: 回应 also is a verb, cf. Wikipedia on 保钓运动: ...是由香港、台湾民众和海外华人为了回应钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿主权问题而发起的一系列民间运动...  
> **username_2**: All the four word can be noun and verb. 回答: answer, 回复: reply, 回应: reply, response, 答复 is sometimes interchangeable with 回答, 回复 or 回应.  
> **username_3**: just received this one from my teacher. 不好意思，这两天我太忙了，没有时间给你回信。  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-10-12. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

`回答`often used when somebody answer your question, usually face to face.
`回复`often used when they reply you via text or phone.
`回应`is used when you done something, others do another thing in respond.
`答复`is used when you ask question or have some petition to the government or other big agency, you will get a respond from them.

In your example,

> "I'm so sorry I took so long to respond to your message!"

should use `回复`

> "‘Of course!' the man replied!"

should use `回答`

> "I waited for a long time, but still no response"

should use `答复`

as for

> "He was not happy with my reply"

it will mainly rely on the context you are in,


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