Not wanting to give a long explanation when Americans asked him how Japanese people answered the phone, given that in the US, they just said “hello”, he gave one phrase that sort of covered all the bases – moshi moshi. He was there to study the American phone system on behalf of the Japanese Ministry of Engineering. Well, some people say a Japanese man named Shigenori Katougi created moshi moshi in the late 1880s while travelling the US. History aside, there’s still some debate around the phrase’s exact origins – but everyone agrees it probably came from phone operators saying moushimasu (申します)!īut just when – and how – did moushimasu evolve into moshi moshi, specifically? If that’s enough about moshi moshi for you, why not get started on some other Japanese phrases? You can start learning right here, right now – with Busuu. Nowadays, Japanese people frequently use this expression at the beginning of their phone calls, without thinking about the phrase’s origin.” Due to the poor quality of sound, it became custom to repeat the phrase – and thus, moshi moshi was born. Moushimasu means “to say” in Japanese polite speech and was used to communicate with callers who were in a more privileged position. But, when the job was taken over by female operators, they started using the more humble, polite expression moushimasu (申します/もうします). The story has it, the first telephone operators in Japan were men who used less polite speech to get the attention of the person on the phone. “There are several theories about the origin of the expression moshi moshi (もしもし), but it seems to be related to the humble verb mousu (申す/もうす), which means “to say”, and the arrival of telecommunications to Japan in 1890. The history behind moshi moshi, according to our resident Japanese expert
What’s that? That little taste wasn’t enough and you’re hungry for more about moshi moshi? Well, you’re in luck, because we have a lot more information to share. Want to know more? Here’s the longer answer: It’s a casual greeting used for friends and family, like a “hello”, but in fact means something entirely different! In English, it literally means something more like, “to say to say”, or “I speak I speak”.īut a more apt translation would be something like, “I’m going to talk”.īut remember this: it’s considered casual speech, even though it comes from a polite word – so don’t use it if your boss is calling you! Moshi moshi, or もしもし, is a common Japanese phrase that Japanese people use when picking up the phone. What does moshi moshi mean? The short answer:
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