Making business phone calls: Asking to speak with someone and leaving a message

🇯🇵 Callers use さん and respectful words for the person they want. The receptionist, though, will drop さん when talking about their own colleague to an outsider.

🇯🇵 This is much more formal than すみません. Staff say it whenever they can't give you what you asked for, such as when the person you want isn't available.

💬 On a business call, ただいま means "right now". It's the same word people call out when coming home ("I'm back!"), so don't be thrown when you hear it here.

💬 Add 中 (chū) to a noun to say something is in progress. Other examples: 電話中 "on the phone", 外出中 "out of the office".

🇯🇵 Notice there's no さん after 田中. When speaking to an outsider, staff refer to their own colleagues, even their boss, by bare family name, since you don't raise up your own side in front of a client.

💬 〜をお願いできますか is a handy polite request: "could I ask for ~?" You can swap in other things, as in 確認をお願いできますか "could you check?"

💬 打ち合わせ is usually a smaller working meeting between a few people. 会議 is more like a formal or scheduled conference.

💬 明日 is read (ashita) in everyday speech. You may also hear the more formal (asu) on business calls.

💬 〜の件で means "regarding ~" and tells the listener what your call is about. Swap in the topic: 見積もりの件で "regarding the estimate".

💬 Adding お to 電話 makes it polite. In full, "please have him call me back" is often said as 折り返しお電話をお願いします, where 折り返し means "return call".

🇯🇵 Staff use this very formal "understood" with customers and clients. With coworkers you'd hear わかりました or 承知しました instead.

💬 Adding ておきます to a verb means doing it now, ready for later. Another example: 準備しておきます "I'll get it ready".

💬 に marks the person receiving the message: 田中に means "to Tanaka".

🇯🇵 This is the standard way to close a business call or request, a polite "thanks in advance" with no exact English equivalent. いたします makes it a more humble version of よろしくお願いします.

💬 The phrase literally means "I'll be rude", meaning "excuse me for leaving". You'll also hear it when entering or leaving a room.