Japanese Phone Conversation Phrases: Answer, Wait & Close

Phone calls in Japanese follow an unwritten script — and once you know it, most calls become far more predictable than you'd expect. Whether you're ringing a friend or calling a company in Japan, this guide covers every phrase you need in both the casual and business registers, with two complete sample dialogues, a teacher's breakdown of common mistakes, and a practice quiz.

Why Phone Calls in Japanese Feel Different

Without the physical cues of a face-to-face conversation, Japanese speakers rely even more heavily on set phrases and clear register signals. A casual call to a friend uses entirely different vocabulary from a call to a clinic or a business contact, and mixing those registers is the single most common mistake learners make.

The reassuring news: phone Japanese is highly formulaic. Most calls follow the same sequence — opening → purpose → closing — and once the phrases for each stage feel automatic, you can handle the vast majority of calls with confidence.

Essential Japanese Phone Phrases: Quick Reference

The Casual Register: Everyday Calls with もしもし

もしもし (moshi moshi) is the classic Japanese phone greeting — recognisable to nearly everyone. It works perfectly for calls to friends, family, or anyone you'd normally speak to in plain style.

The basic casual call follows a simple four-step sequence:

1. Greet: もしもし — signals that you're on the line and ready to speak
2. Identify yourself: ___です — your name, immediately after the greeting
3. Check availability: いまいいですか？ — always worth asking before launching into your reason for calling
4. State your purpose, then wrap up — use ちょっとまってください if you need a pause, or あとで電話します if the timing is bad

Example sentences in context:

もしもし、サラです。いまいいですか？ Moshi moshi, Sara desu. Ima ii desu ka? Hello, this is Sara. Is now a good time?

ちょっとまってください。すぐ戻ります。 Chotto matte kudasai. Sugu modorimasu. Please wait a moment. I'll be right back.

じゃあ、またあとで。 Jā, mata ato de. Okay, talk later.

Cultural note: もしもし is thought to derive from 申す (mōsu), a humble Japanese verb meaning "to speak." Early telephone operators used 申します申します (mōshimasu mōshimasu) to announce they were on the line — which gradually shortened into the もしもし we use today. Whatever its history, the practical rule is this: もしもし is social-register only. Answering a business call with it sounds informal. Professional callers skip it entirely and open with their company name instead.

The Business Register: Formal Phone Japanese

Business calls in Japan open with the company name — not a greeting — and stay in keigo (敬語, keigo, formal/respectful speech) throughout. If you've already practised formal language in situations like checking in and making requests at a Japanese hotel, you'll find that same respectful vocabulary travels naturally to the phone.

The business call sequence works like this:

1. Answer with company name: はい、〇〇でございます
2. Caller identifies company and name: お世話になっております。〇〇と申します。
3. State purpose — ask to speak to someone, confirm a meeting, pass along information
4. Handle the request: 少々お待ちください / 担当者に代わります
5. Close formally: 失礼いたします (said by both parties)

More example sentences in context:

お世話になっております。ABCカンパニーの田中と申します。 Osewa ni natte orimasu. Ē Bī Shī Kanpanī no Tanaka to mōshimasu. Thank you for your continued support. This is Tanaka from ABC Company.

少々お待ちください。担当者に代わります。 Shōshō omachi kudasai. Tantōsha ni kawarimasu. Please hold a moment. I'll transfer you to the person in charge.

お世話になっております has no clean English equivalent — it functions as a ritual acknowledgement of the relationship between two businesses or colleagues. You'll hear it at the start of virtually every business call in Japan, whether you know the person well or have never spoken before. Don't overthink it; simply say it as the expected opener and move on.

Phone Conversations in Practice

Casual call:

A: もしもし。 Moshi moshi. Hello?

B: もしもし、ケイです。いまいいですか？ Moshi moshi, Kei desu. Ima ii desu ka? Hello, this is Kei. Is now a good time?

A: うん、いいよ。どうしたの？ Un, ii yo. Dō shita no? Yeah, sure. What's up?

B: あした会えますか？ちょっと話したくて。 Ashita aemasu ka? Chotto hanashitakute. Can we meet tomorrow? I'd like to chat about something.

A: ちょっとまって。カレンダーを確認する。 Chotto matte. Karendā o kakunin suru. Hold on — let me check my calendar.

B: うん。 Un. Sure.

A: だいじょうぶ。じゃあ、また明日！ Daijōbu. Jā, mata ashita! All good. See you tomorrow!

Business call:

A: はい、さくら商事でございます。 Hai, Sakura Shōji de gozaimasu. Hello, this is Sakura Trading.

B: お世話になっております。ABCカンパニーの田中と申します。佐藤部長はいらっしゃいますでしょうか。 Osewa ni natte orimasu. Ē Bī Shī Kanpanī no Tanaka to mōshimasu. Satō buchō wa irasshaimasu deshō ka. Thank you for your continued support. My name is Tanaka from ABC Company. Is Manager Satō available?

A: 少々お待ちください。 Shōshō omachi kudasai. Please hold a moment.

A: お待たせいたしました。佐藤はただいま席を外しております。のちほどご連絡いたします。 Omataseitashimashita. Satō wa tadaima seki o hazushite orimasu. Nochihodo go-renraku itashimasu. Thank you for waiting. Mr. Satō has stepped away from his desk. We'll be in touch shortly.

B: わかりました。よろしくお願いいたします。失礼いたします。 Wakarimashita. Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu. Shitsurei itashimasu. Understood. Thank you very much. Goodbye.

A: 失礼いたします。 Shitsurei itashimasu. Goodbye.

Want to practise these exact dialogues with someone who can correct your timing, intonation, and register in real time? Try a Free Trial one-on-one lesson over LINE and run through these phone scenarios with a real Japanese teacher.

Common Mistakes on Japanese Phone Calls

1. Using もしもし in a business context. Learners who pick up もしもし first often reach for it automatically in any phone situation. On a business call, skip it entirely. The professional opening is はい、〇〇でございます — straight to the company name, no pleasantries.

2. Omitting お世話になっております. This phrase feels odd to English speakers because there is no equivalent, but leaving it out in a business call sounds abrupt and marks the caller as unfamiliar with business etiquette. Think of it as a ritual handshake — expected even between parties who have never spoken before.

3. Confusing ちょっとまってください and 少々お待ちください. Both mean "please wait a moment," but the difference is register. ちょっとまってください is casual; 少々お待ちください is formal. Using the casual version on a business call sounds too breezy; using the formal version with close friends sounds oddly stiff. Match the phrase to the relationship.

4. Closing calls abruptly. In English, a quick "bye!" ends a call. In Japanese business calls, both parties exchange 失礼いたします — it's mutual, and the person who placed the call typically says it first. Missing this closing exchange can leave the other party uncertain the call is actually over.

5. Speaking too fast. Without visual cues to support meaning, pace matters more than in face-to-face conversation. Slowing down even slightly gives your listener time to process and reduces misunderstandings — native Japanese speakers do the same over the phone.

Practice Quiz

Work through these before checking the answers.

Part 1 — Fill in the blank

Part 2 — What does it mean?

Part 3 — Translate into Japanese

Answers

FAQ

What do Japanese people say when they answer the phone?

In casual settings, most Japanese speakers answer with もしもし (moshi moshi). In business, they immediately state the company name followed by でございます — for example, はい、さくら商事でございます. The register difference matters: using もしもし in a business context reads as informal or unprofessional, so it is best reserved for personal calls.

Is もしもし polite enough for business calls?

No. もしもし belongs to the social register and is not appropriate for professional phone calls. Business callers open with their company name and stay in keigo throughout. If you are calling a company, a clinic, or a potential employer in Japan, skip もしもし and open with お世話になっております and your name instead.

How do I ask to speak to a specific person in Japanese?

In a business call, use をお願いできますでしょうか (___ o onegai dekimasu deshō ka — "May I speak with , please?"). For a casual call to a friend's home, ___さんはいますか？(___ san wa imasu ka? — "Is ___ there?") is perfectly natural and easy to remember.

How do I close a phone call in Japanese?

For casual calls, じゃあ、またあとで (Jā, mata ato de) or またね (Mata ne — "Talk later") is natural. For business calls, both parties say 失礼いたします (Shitsurei itashimasu), usually preceded by よろしくお願いいたします (Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu — a formal expression of goodwill). Both sides say the closing — it is a mutual exchange, not a one-sided sign-off.

The closing language you've built here carries well beyond the phone. For phrases that wrap up conversations gracefully across many different settings — both formal and casual — the guide to closing conversations naturally in Japanese gives you a complete toolkit as you move towards the end of the curriculum.

Continue learning:

← Expressing and discussing opinions in Japanese | Japanese phrases for casual everyday conversation →

This is Lesson 86 of the Kind Japanese 100-day beginner curriculum.