![]() ![]() See, while moushimasu (申します) is the humble verb form, moshi moshi, though originally used to be polite, has evolved to be considered casual, general speech. ![]() The only exception you might see in face-to-face conversation is asking someone if they’re still listening, as sort of a, “Hello? Anybody in there?”Īnd you can’t use it for your higher ups. Moshi moshi is really only used to answer the phone. There’s a whole system of language built around speaking in a way that’s humble (putting yourself down) or respectful (lifting the person you’re speaking to up).Ĭalled keigo (敬語), these more polite forms of speech include different vocabulary, verb conjugations, and ways of addressing people, and are very important in Japanese business culture. Easy, right? Moushimasu: roots in Japanese polite speechĪfter reading a little about the history of moshi moshi, you might be wondering about the difference between mousu (申す), moushimasu (申します) and moshi moshi (もしもし) – and why you should say some of them to your friends and others to your higher ups at work.Įssentially, in Japanese, there are different levels of speech: you have casual, general speech polite speech and respectful speech. And shi (し) is ‘shee’, as in she will be loved, she will be lo-o-o-oved.Īnd, since there are no other characters to elongate either sound, in this case, we can guess that the syllables get equal weight.Īnd with all that, we get ‘moh-shee moh-shee’. That means when you see mo (も), it’s just about always pronounced ‘moh’ – as in mow the lawn, or Moe the bartender. So, while in English, for example, the letter ‘c’ can turn into all sorts of sounds, each of these characters stands for a syllable. In Japanese, there are a set number of sounds and syllables, and each hiragana or katakana character represents a sound or syllable. Moshi moshi is spelled like it sounds, and vice versa. Whoever said it first, the phrase must have worked well, because it obviously stuck! Spelling and pronunciation of moshi moshi On further reflection, he thought it was such a good idea, he introduced it to the Ministry of Engineering when he got back home. 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: ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |