申し申し

Japanese
Kanji in this term
申 申
もう
Grade: 3		 もう
Grade: 3
kun’yomi

Etymology

/mauɕi mauɕi/ → /mɔːɕi mɔːɕi/ → /moːɕi moːɕi/

Reduplication of 申し (mōshi), the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 申す (mōsu, “to speak”, humble form).[1][2][3] Mōshi mōshi literally means "speaking speaking", and was used in the first telephone experiment in Japan, quite similar to the English “checking, checking” or “testing, testing” used when testing audio equipment. In modern parlance, it is used more like English “hello”, only just on the telephone, or figuratively when trying to get through to someone.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [mo̞ːɕi mo̞ːɕi]

Interjection

申(もう)し申(もう)し • (mōshi mōshi) ←まうしまうし (mausimausi)?

  1. (telephony) a common Japanese telephone greeting: hello; used when answering the telephone
  2. used to confirm that the person being addressed is listening, or to confirm if anyone is listening

Alternative forms

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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