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Essential Phrases for Phone Conversations in Japanese: Speak Confidently visualisation

Essential Phrases for Phone Conversations in Japanese: Speak Confidently

Essential phrases for Japanese phone conversations.

Here are essential Japanese phrases for phone conversations, including both polite and casual usage:

Answering the Phone

  • もしもし。 (Moshimoshi.) — “Hello.” (Common way to answer)
  • はい、___です。 (Hai, ___ desu.) — “Yes, this is ___.” (Polite, introduce yourself)

Polite Business Phrases

  • [名前]です。 ([Namae] desu.) — “This is [Name].”
  • [名前]社の[名前]です。 ([Namae]-sha no [Namae] desu.) — “This is [Name] from [Name] Company.”
  • どなたからのお電話でしょうか? (Donata kara no o denwa deshou ka?) — “Who is calling?”
  • お電話ありがとうございます。 (O denwa arigatou gozaimasu.) — “Thank you for calling.”
  • 少々お待ちください。 (Shoushou omachi kudasai.) — “Please wait a moment.”
  • [名前]さんとお話してもよろしいでしょうか? ([Namae]-san to ohanashi shite mo yoroshii deshou ka?) — “May I speak to [Name]?”
  • 申し訳ございませんが、別の電話に出ております。 (Moushiwake gozaimasen ga, betsu no denwa ni dete orimasu.) — “I’m sorry, he’s on another call.”
  • 只今不在です。 (Tadaima fuzaidesu.) — “He/She is not here right now.”
  • 戻り次第、折り返しご連絡いたします。 (Modori shidai orikaeshi go renraku itashimasu.) — “He/She will return your call as soon as possible.”

Asking for Clarification

  • もう少しゆっくりお話しいただけますか? (Mou sukoshi yukkuri ohanashi itadakemasu ka?) — “Could you speak more slowly, please?”
  • もう一度言っていただけますか? (Mou ichido itte itadakemasu ka?) — “Could you say that again?”

Casual Phone Phrases (among friends)

  • 元気? (Genki?) — “How are you?”
  • 今、話せる? (Ima, hanaseru?) — “Can you talk now?”
  • 何してるの? (Nani shiteru no?) — “What are you doing?”
  • ちょっと待って。 (Chotto matte.) — “Hold on a second.”
  • 後でかけ直すね。 (Ato de kake naosu ne.) — “I’ll call you back later.”
  • またね。 (Mata ne.) — “Talk to you later.”

Common Closing Phrases

  • では、失礼します。 (Dewa, shitsurei shimasu.) — “Well, excuse me.” (Used to politely end the call)

These phrases cover essential politeness, clarifying questions, waiting, and casual conversation on the phone in Japanese. They are widely used in both personal and business contexts and will help facilitate smoother phone calls in Japanese.

References

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