Japanese Culture in New York - Chopsticks NY

Making a phone call, Part 2

Last month, you learned the simplest phone conversation pattern for business calls, which taught you how to request to be connected to a particular person. This month, you’ll learn how to deal with a scenario in which you cannot reach the person.

John: Moshi moshi, John to moushimasu. Tanaka-san o onegai shimasu.
(Hello, this is John speaking. May I please speak with Mr. Tanaka?)

Receptionist: Moushiwake gozaimasen. Tanaka wa tadaima gaishutsu shiteorimasu. Go-dengon o uketamawarimashou ka.

(I’m sorry, but Mr. Tanaka is out of the office now. Can I take a message?)

John: Iie, kekkou desu. Ato-de kakenaoshimasu. (No, thank you. I’ll give him a call later.)

It looks really complicated, but don’t be scared. Keep the two thoughts below in mind and take a close look at the example one more time.

1. The conversation above uses many new words, but its grammatical structure is the same as what you have learned.

2. The conversation uses extremely polite words, so it is easier to understand if you replace those words with standard words as shown below:

moushiwake gozaimasen > sumimasen

gaishutsu-shiteorimasu > gaishutsu shiteimasu

go-dengon > dengon

uketamawarimasu > kikimasu

John’s answer to the receptionist’s question is the simplest part of the conversation. “Kekkou desu” is convenient in situations when you would like to decline an offer politely. For example:

A: O-cha wa ikaga desu ka. (Would you care for tea?)

B: Iie, kekkou desu. (No, thank you.)

“Kakenaoshimasu” in John’s last sentence is a compound verb that combines “kakeru” (make a phone call) and “naosu” (fix, correct, repair). You’ll learn more phone conversation patterns next month.

NEW WORDS
moushiwake: n. excuse (often used as part of “moushiwake arimasen,” meaning “There’s no excuse” and “I’m sorry”)

gaishutsu: n. outing, going out

gaishutsu-shimasu: v. to go out, stay out (dictionary form: gaishutsu-suru, -te form: gaishutsu-shite)

dengon: n. message

uketamawarimasu: v. to hear, listen to, to receive (dictionary form: uketamawaru, -te form: uketamawatte)

kekkou: n. often used with “-na” to make the adjective “kekkou-na,” meaning “fine” and “all right”   ato-de: adv. later

kakenaoshimasu: v. to call back (dictionary form: kakenaosu, -te form: kakenaoshite)