So on March 6th, 1913, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police announced that officers would no longer use such crude language. All of these are impolite ways to say 'Hey!' Back then, police would stop people by saying oi oi おいおい（）, kora kora こらこら（） or oi kora おいこら（）. According to 20世紀B級ニュース (20th Century B-Grade News) people complained about police officers in 1913. There is one more non-telephone use of moshi moshi that's now defunct. Or, if you see someone passed out on the sidewalk, you can tap their shoulder and say, 'moshi moshi!' If your friend is spacing out, you can wave your hand in front of their face and say, 'moshi moshi.' But when you do it'll usually be to get someone's attention. You're not going to use moshi moshi off the phone too much. If you're answering the telephone and it's someone other than family or friends on the other line, don't say moshi moshi. That's the way you'll use moshi moshi 90% of the time. If there is a long pause or a lost connection during the call, you can use 'moshi moshi' to make sure the person is still on the line (again only when the call is from a friend or family member).įor example, when your friend's voice becomes choppy, you can say moshi moshi kikoemasuka? もしもし聞こえますか？（） which means 'Hello, can you hear me?' But only when you receive a phone call from friends or family. You should use 'moshi moshi' primarily when answering the telephone. When Should You Use Moshi Moshi? Source: 瓦力_WALLACE There are quiet a few options in this 'moshi moshi menu' so be careful about which one you use in which situation. In short, the politeness level of the conjugations goes like this: Technically, when you say 'moshi moshi,' you're politely saying 'I'm going to talk' twice. These all mean 'I'm going to say (talk).' Eventually it was shortened to 'moushi' (申し) and was used to catch somebody's attention, like saying 'hey!' Initially, the words used were moushiagemasu 申し上げます（）, moushimasu 申します（） or mousu 申す（）. In the Edo period, it was used in normal conversation when speaking to someone of higher status. 'Moshi' actually comes from the verb mousu 申す（）, which is a humble form of 'to say' ( iu 言う（）). It features a cat, so you'll definitely like it. If you want a quick, conversational overview of the meaning of moshi moshi, check out the video Koichi made years back. What Does Moshi Moshi Mean? Source: Rumpleteaser Explanation 3: Telephone operators did it.Explanation 2: Ghosts can't say moshi twice.Explanation 1: Foxes can't pronounce moshi moshi.Why Do Japanese People Say Moshi Moshi?.'I appreciate all you have done for us'.Other Ways to Start a Japanese Phone Conversation.And there's a reason it's mostly (but not always) used on the phone. And you need to know the right situation for the right greeting.īut 'moshi moshi' is an odd phrase. There are several ways to answer the phone in Japanese. Most people know this 'telephone hello' even if they don't know any other Japanese words.īut if you say 'moshi moshi' every time you answer the phone in Japan, you'll end up in bad situations. Answering the phone in Japanese seems like easy business.

Guso drop mushi