It is always difficult to talk on the phone in a language you don't understand well. Don't give up though. Practice will help a lot. Listen very carefully to what the other person says. Talking on the phone in Japanese has an added complication, since there are some formal phrases customarily used in phone conversations. (The Japanese normally talk very politely on the phone unless talking with a friend.)
Telephone Numbers
A telephone number (denwa bango) consists of the
three parts, for example, (XX) XXXX-XXXX. The first part is the area
code. The second and last part are the person's number. Each number is
usually read separately, linking the parts with the particle "no". In
telephone numbers 0 is often pronounced as zero, 4 as yon, 7 as nana,
and 9 as kyuu (as 0, 4, 7 and 9 each have two different
pronunciations). If you do not know the Japanese numbers. If my phone number were 1234-5678 it would be read "ichi ni
san yon no go roku nana hachi." (Remember 'no' takes the place of the
dash in the number.) To ask someone's number you can say Denwa bango wa
nan ban desu ka.
Phrases
In Japanese, a lot of set phrases are used
when speaking on the phone, especially in business situations. One
important phrase is "moshi moshi." It is used by the caller when the
person at the other end picks up. Some people say "moshi moshi" to
answer the phone, but "hai" is used more often especially in business.
(Do not say 'mushi mushi' that means 'bugs, bugs' and sounds rather
silly.) Moshi moshi can also be said when you think that the caller
cannot hear you or to make sure the caller is still on the line. Before
hanging up the phone it is common to say shitsurei shimasu or shitsurei
itashimasu. This indicates that you are about to hang up.
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