Moshi-Moshi

What is Moshi-Moshi?

—Do you know what Moshi Moshi means? If you have experienced living in Japan, you might have heard of it at least once. Moshi-Moshi is the phrase that Japanese people say to start a phone conversation. You say “Hello” in English, but “Hello” can also be used in daily life as a greeting. However, Moshi-Moshi can be used only on the phone. They don’t say Moshi Moshi when they meet someone in person.

Origin

—It is said that Moshi-Moshi comes from Japanese word Mo-shi(masu) which was used in Edo period (around 300 – 400 years ago). It means that “I am going to start talking now” and people used to say it in person back then. But somehow, it was shortened and doubled, and everyone says Moshi-Moshi over the phone today.

Let’s use Moshi Moshi!

—You can use it both in business scene and casual scene. When you are calling your friends, your family or even your boss, you can start a conversation from Moshi-Moshi. There is no rude or offensive meaning in it. If it naturally comes out of your mouth, you will be able to start a natural phone conversation!