The Most Useful Japanese Phone Phrases

The Most Useful Japanese Phone Phrases

Speaking on the phone can be stressful enough in your own language, let alone in a foreign language!

Talking on the phone in Japanese may be especially difficult.
You’ll need to memorize a specific set of Japanese phone phrases, as we use Honorific language, or 敬語 (Keigo), for most of our phone conversations.
The exception is when we’re just having a casual chat with friends or family.

But don’t worry! There are only a few patterns to learn and you’ll see them all in this article

Picking up the Phone
First impressions are critical! Let’s start by looking at some Japanese phone call phrases you could use to answer the phone.

1. もしもし。
Romanization: Moshimoshi.
English: “Hello.”

This is the most common way to answer a phone call in Japanese.
Moshimoshi is typically used by the receiver to answer the phone, but the caller may also say moshimoshi before continuing in order to make sure the other person can hear.

2. はい、___です。
Romanization: Hai, ___ desu.
English: “Yes, this is ___.” [Polite]

When you pick up the phone, you say はい (hai), meaning “yes,” and then state who is speaking.
To give your name, make sure to place the general and polite predicate -です (-desu) at the end.
Keep in mind that you should normally give your family name (as opposed to only your first name) when answering the phone in Japanese.

3. はい、___でございます。
Romanization: Hai, ___ de gozaimasu.
English: “Yes, this is ___.” [Very polite]

This phrase is very polite and often used in business contexts, such as when answering a company phone.

4. どちら様でしょうか。
Romanization: Dochira-sama deshō ka.
English: “Who is this?” [Very polite]

This phrase can be used later on when you want to know who’s calling, but some people ask this when they first receive a call.

You can make the phrase even more polite by placing this in front:
• 失礼ですが… (Shitsurei desu ga…) – “Excuse me, but…”

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese language and pick up additional Japanese phrases for different situations,
you’ll find a lot of helpful content on https://www.japonin.com/.

We provide a variety of free lessons designed to help improve your Japanese language skills.