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Today, we have 7 useful Japanese business phrases for talking on the phone to aid in your study! 

Status, age, and level of familiarity are important to the Japanese, and this is reflected in their language. Depending on whether you’re talking to friends or people with higher status, the words you use and the way you conjugate verbs will be different. In your journey to becoming a fluent Japanese speaker, you will need to be familiar with the polite speech the Japanese use. Not only that, you will also need to use it yourself in order to make a good impression. Therefore, let’s get started!  

7 Useful Business Expressions When Talking on the Phone

1. もしもし Moshi-Moshi – Hello

Whether it’s the Prime Minister or your best friend Kengo, moshi-moshi is the standard way of saying “Hello” in Japanese when you first pick up the phone. Just don’t use it when you’re talking in person—unless you’re trying to make it as a comedian! 

2. ～の～と申します ～ no ～ to moushimasu – This is ____ from ____.

The phone rings, and Mr. Yamada picks up:

YAMADA: Moshi-Moshi.

The person on the other end introduces themselves:

CALLER: Watashi wa Ninja-fast Internet no Takahashi to moushimasu. (This is Mr. Takahashi from Ninja-fast Internet.)

Business etiquette dictates that a person must first introduce their company or organization before saying their name. This goes along with the Japanese custom of putting the organization/company before the individual. 

NOTE: We will be using the polite -masu stem the entire time, as it’s the most polite way to express yourself in Japanese.   

3. ～様、いらっしゃいますか？ ～ sama, irasshaimasu ka? – May I speak to ____?

You may know that adding -san to the end of a name (like Yamada-san) is the same as adding “Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss” to a name in English. However, when company representatives address customers, they have to step it up in politeness. Therefore they attach -sama instead of -san to really make the customer feel like royalty. 

The Japanese word iru (or imasu if we’re using polite speech) means “to be (somewhere).” Therefore, if you want to say, “Is Mr. Yamada there?” you would say:

“Yamada-san wa imasu ka?”  

Since we’re using the -masu stem, we’re already being ultra polite, but there is an even higher level of politeness above this. Again, customers in Japan like to be treated like royalty, so there is a special word reserved for this situation that means the same as iru. That word is irassharu (or irasshaimasu). Therefore, if you’re a company representative and want to speak to someone specific, you say:

“Yamada-sama, irasshaimasu ka?” 

So, here is our conversation so far:

YAMADA: Moshi-Moshi.

CALLER: Watashi wa Ninja-fast Internet no Takahashi to moushimasu. Yamada-sama, irasshaimasu ka?

4. いつもご利用いただきありがとうございます Itsumo go-riyou itadaki arigatou gozaimasu – Thank you for your ongoing business

Even seasoned Japanese speakers get disoriented by random polite phrases thrown in here and there. This one is quite standard, however, so learn it now because you will hear it every time you talk to people you regularly do business with (and even if you’ve never bought anything from them at all! You can hear this phrase playing on the loudspeakers in stores!)

Arigatou gozaimasu is “Thank you” in Japanese tacked onto the end. 

Itadaku (conjugated here as itadaki) means: be given, get, receive, eat, have (something) done. It’s another special respectful word like irassharu and -sama that we don’t have in English, so it’s hard to understand if translated literally. Just understand that it adds respect. 

Riyou (with go- attached to the front for added politeness) is a noun meaning “to use.”

So, translated literally it would be something like:

“Thank you for always using (us).”

Let’s add this phrase to our dialogue:

YAMADA: Moshi-Moshi.

CALLER: Watashi wa Ninja-fast Internet no Takahashi to moushimasu. Yamada-sama, irasshaimasu ka?

YAMADA: Hai. Yamada desu. (I’m Yamada.)

CALLER: Yamada-sama, itsumo go-riyou itadaki arigatou gozaimasu. 

5. もう一度言ってください Mou ichido itte kudasai – Could you repeat that, please?

This phrase is indispensable when learning a new language. Sometimes people speak too quickly or you have a hard time understanding what they’re saying, so you need to stop them and have them repeat it.

If you want the person to speak more slowly, you say:

“Mou sukoshi yukkuri hanashite kudasai.” 

YAMADA: Moshi-Moshi.

CALLER: Watashi wa Ninja-fast Internet no Takahashi to moushimasu. Yamada-sama, irasshaimasu ka?

YAMADA: Hai. Yamada desu.

CALLER: Yamada-sama, itsumo go-riyou itadaki arigatou gozaimasu. Ima campaign-chuu desu ga, Ninja-fast smartphone wo o-tsukai no kata ni wa waribiki itashimasu. (Thank you for choosing our service, Mr. Yamada. We are holding a campaign now offering a discount for customers using a Ninja-fast smartphone.)

YAMADA: Sumimasen desu ga. Mou ichido itte kudasai. (I’m sorry, could you repeat that please?)  

6. またご連絡致します Mata go-renraku itashimasu – I will contact you again

This is a convenient phrase to signify the end of a business conversation. Customer service representatives use this at the end of nearly every call.

Here we are using the word itasu (conjugated as itashimasu), which is another special formal word like irassharu, -sama, and itadaku. Itasu is the formal version of suru (also meaning “to do”).

Also, notice again that we’re attaching go- to the beginning of renraku (contact) to give it extra politeness.

YAMADA: Moshi-Moshi.

CALLER: Watashi wa Ninja-fast Internet no Takahashi to moushimasu. Yamada-sama, irasshaimasu ka?

YAMADA: Hai. Yamada desu.

CALLER: Yamada-sama, itsumo go-riyou itadaki arigatou gozaimasu. Ima campaign-chuu desu ga, Ninja-fast smartphone wo o-tsukai no kata ni wa waribiki itashimasu.

YAMADA: Sumimasen desu ga. Mou ichido itte kudasai.

CALLER: (Repeats)

YAMADA: Sumimasen, Ninja-fast smartphone wo tsukateimasen. Kono mama no smartphone wo tsukau yotei desu. (Sorry, I’m not using a Ninja-fast smartphone. I plan on just using my current smartphone.)   

CALLER: Arigatou gozaimashita. Mata nani-ka arimashitara go-renraku itashimasu. (Thank you. I’ll contact you again if I have anything else for you.) 

7. 失礼します Shitsurei shimasu – Goodbye

When ending a phone conversation in Japan, you may be tempted to use sayonnara, which means “Goodbye.” This is not the word they use in Japan, however, and how you say goodbye will depend on the context and how formal you want to be. A standard goodbye in a business or formal phone conversation is this: 

“Shitsurei shimasu.”

In other non-telephone situations, this would mean something more along the lines of “Excuse me”—as in an apology. Get used to it, though. It is the Japanese way to always apologize even though you’ve done nothing wrong!

YAMADA: Moshi-Moshi.

CALLER: Watashi wa Ninja-fast Internet no Takahashi to moushimasu. Yamada-sama, irasshaimasu ka?

YAMADA: Hai. Yamada desu.

CALLER: Yamada-sama, itsumo go-riyou itadaki arigatou gozaimasu. Ima campaign-chuu desu ga, Ninja-fast smartphone wo o-tsukai no kata ni wa waribiki itashimasu.

YAMADA: Sumimasen desu ga. Mou ichido itte kudasai.

CALLER: (Repeats)

YAMADA: Sumimasen, Ninja-fast smartphone wo tsukateimasen. Kono mama no smartphone wo tsukau yotei desu.  

CALLER: Arigatou gozaimashita. Mata nani-ka arimashitara go-renraku itashimasu. 

YAMADA: Arigatou gozaimashita. Shitsurei shimasu.

CALLER: Shitsurei shimasu. 

YAMADA: もしもし。

CALLER: 私はニンジャファーストインターネットの高橋と申します。山田様、いらっしゃいますか？

YAMADA: はい。山田です。

CALLER: 山田様、いつもご利用いただきありがとうございます。今キャンペーン中ですが、ニンジャファーストスマートフォンをお使いの方には割引致します。

YAMADA: すみませんですが。もう一度言ってください。

CALLER: (Repeats)

YAMADA: すみません、ニンジャファーストスマートフォンを使ていません。このままのスマートフォンを使う予定です。  

CALLER: ありがとうございました。また何かありましたらご連絡致します。

YAMADA: ありがとうございました。失礼します。

CALLER: 失礼します。

So, there we have it! A sample conversation of a customer and salesman with 7 useful telephone business phrases highlighted. Next time someone calls you offering you the deal of a lifetime, you’ll know exactly what to say and how to say it! 

Thank you for reading, and always remember that practice makes perfect. So get out there and practice, practice, practice! 

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