How to Speak on the Phone in Japanese

Video Transcript

"So you are making a phone call in Japan, and, as I mentioned earlier, there is a greeting on the phone in Japanese. It goes, "Moshi moshi," and it has a history to it. And we ask the person you want to speak to in this manner. Let's put my name here. Yuu san irasshaimasuka? Ok? So let's say you were calling your friend; her name is Naoko, ok? So let's practice with this. Repeat after me: Moshi moshi. Naoko san irasshaimasuka? Very good. I wanted to tell you a little bit about phone in Japan. "Phone" is "denwa" in Japanese and, of course, they have home phone and, of course, they have lots of advanced cell phones. The cell phone is "keitai" - "cell phone" is actually "keitai denwa," but we usually shorten it as "keitai." But if you're traveling, you probably have to look for maybe public phone if you're not at the hotel. And "public phone" is called "koushu denwa." So if you're looking for a public phone, you have to ask, "Where is a public phone?" Is "Koushu denwa doku desu ka?" That's your question. Then also, the emergency number in Japan is not 911, it is 110, a hundred ten. The people said, in the old time when they had to dial, they dialed 1, 1, zero was the longest stroke, and, actually, it helped people to calm down before speaking on the phone. That's what people said. So now, still now, the emergency number over there is 110."