<p><code>手机上</code> describes the act is observed by something from outside of the cellphone through the screen. I guess most of the humanity will do this way.</p>

<p><code>手机里</code>, in contrast, suggests something is really inside the phone, e.g. in memory, storage etc.</p>

<p>So, <code>手机里的照片</code> "pictures (stored) on the phone" and <code>手机上的照片</code> "pictures (found) on the phone" may indicate the same thing. But if you'd say <code>我在手机里玩游戏</code>, I must assume you're a relative of Siri.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-03T07:40:15.253Z
2015-01-04T09:04:23.293Z
2015-01-04T09:04:23.293Z
broccoli forest
<p>Interesting question, I have a short answer for this:</p>

<ol>
<li>我在玩手机游戏 - Very commonly said</li>
<li>我在手机上玩游戏 - Less commonly said</li>
<li>我在玩手机里的游戏 - Less commonly said</li>
<li>我在玩手机上的游戏 - Less commonly said</li>
<li>我在手机里玩游戏 - Almost nobody says this</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-08T14:00:22.370Z
2015-01-08T14:00:22.370Z
AGamePlayer
<p>Both is not make senses. 
我在手机里玩游戏 (I'm playing games in the HP) and 
我在手机上玩游戏. (mean you stand on the phone and play game) </p>

<p>You could just say 我在玩手机里的游戏。(I'm playing HP's games).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-07T05:28:26.973Z
Don't agree. `我在手机里玩游戏` totally makes no sense, which indicates you play games in a location inside the phone. But it is ok to say `我在手机上玩游戏`, which means you play games in the platform of a mobile system.
onevcat
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-01-06T08:22:30.637Z
2015-01-06T08:22:30.637Z
tsohtan
<p>Prepositions are always a fun part to learn of a language. Right now, I'm running into the difficulty of trying to describe "On My Phone". I've heard people say "手机上“ but, after Baiduing I also know that you can say stuff like "手机里的照片“。 Could anyone give their opinion on which is more commonly used and/or any differences in usage? </p>

<p>A similar <code>question</code> was asked <a href="https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/8475/is-it-correct-to-say-%E5%9C%A8%E6%89%8B%E6%9C%BA">Is it correct to say “在手机”？</a> here and the answer used “手机上” </p>

<pre><code> 我正在手机上玩游戏
</code></pre>

<p>Could this have been switched to 手机里?</p>

<grammar><usage>
How to say “On the phone” （手机里 vs. 手机上）
# How to say “On the phone” （手机里 vs. 手机上）

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-01-03)

Prepositions are always a fun part to learn of a language. Right now, I'm running into the difficulty of trying to describe "On My Phone". I've heard people say "手机上“ but, after Baiduing I also know that you can say stuff like "手机里的照片“。 Could anyone give their opinion on which is more commonly used and/or any differences in usage?

A similar `question` was asked [Is it correct to say “在手机”？](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/8475/is-it-correct-to-say-%E5%9C%A8%E6%89%8B%E6%9C%BA) here and the answer used “手机上”

```
 我正在手机上玩游戏

```

Could this have been switched to 手机里?

**Tags:** grammar, usage


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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-01-03. Score: 11

`手机上` describes the act is observed by something from outside of the cellphone through the screen. I guess most of the humanity will do this way.

`手机里`, in contrast, suggests something is really inside the phone, e.g. in memory, storage etc.

So, `手机里的照片` "pictures (stored) on the phone" and `手机上的照片` "pictures (found) on the phone" may indicate the same thing. But if you'd say `我在手机里玩游戏`, I must assume you're a relative of Siri.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2015-01-08. Score: 1

Interesting question, I have a short answer for this:

1. 我在玩手机游戏 - Very commonly said
2. 我在手机上玩游戏 - Less commonly said
3. 我在玩手机里的游戏 - Less commonly said
4. 我在玩手机上的游戏 - Less commonly said
5. 我在手机里玩游戏 - Almost nobody says this


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### Answer by username_3 on 2015-01-06. Score: 0

Both is not make senses.
我在手机里玩游戏 (I'm playing games in the HP) and
我在手机上玩游戏. (mean you stand on the phone and play game)

You could just say 我在玩手机里的游戏。(I'm playing HP's games).

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Don't agree. `我在手机里玩游戏` totally makes no sense, which indicates you play games in a location inside the phone. But it is ok to say `我在手机上玩游戏`, which means you play games in the platform of a mobile system.  

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