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申し (もうし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

申もうし

Meanings

1

interjection

excuse me!; hey!

archaic

Archaic interjection used to call out to someone, similar to modern もしもし or すみません. Not used in contemporary speech.

「申もうし、申もうし」と声こえをかけたが、誰だれも振ふり向むかなかった。
He called out 'Excuse me! Excuse me!' but no one turned around.

Kanji

申have the honor to, sign of the monkey, 3-5PM

Similar words

もしもし
Modern equivalent used to get someone's attention, especially on the phone. 申し is its archaic predecessor.
すみません
Common modern apology/excuse-me, while 申し is an old-fashioned direct call.

Etymology

Derived from the humble verb 申す (もうす, 'to say'). The interjection 申し is a shortened form used historically to call out to someone, later evolving into もしもし.