もしもし
Meanings
1
Standard telephone greeting; also used when testing a connection or when you think the other person may not hear you.
Hello, is this Mr. Tanaka?
2
Used to get someone's attention in person, similar to calling out 'excuse me' or 'hey'.
Excuse me, you dropped this.
Usage patterns
- もしもし、〈人〉ですかhello, is this [person]? (used when answering or making a phone call)
Hello, is this Mr. Tanaka?
- もしもし、〈事〉hey, [something] (calling out to get someone's attention before saying something)
Hey, you dropped your bag!
- もしもし、聞こえますかhello, can you hear me? (checking a phone connection)
Hello, can you hear me? The signal seems bad.