Making business phone calls: Scheduling a meeting over the phone

💬 よろしい is the polite form of いい "good". Use it when asking about the other person's convenience: 何時がよろしいですか "what time would be good?"

💬 In Japanese the bigger unit comes first, linked with の. So you say "Wednesday's afternoon", and 明日の朝 means "tomorrow morning".

💬 すみません is usually said (sumimasen). In quick speech it often comes out closer to (suimasen).

🇯🇵 Trailing off after ちょっと "a little" is the normal polite way to say no. The listener understands it as "that doesn't work", so you don't need to finish the sentence or give a reason.

🇯🇵 Opening with an apology and then trailing off softens a refusal. A blunt "Wednesday is no good" would sound cold on a business call.

💬 はどうですか after any noun makes a quick suggestion: 明日はどうですか "how about tomorrow?"

💬 Japanese puts the bigger unit first, so the day comes before the time, joined with の. 二時 is said (ni-ji), and four o'clock is 四時 (yo-ji), not (yon-ji).

💬 いかがでしょうか is a softer, more polite version of どうですか "how about it?". Swap it in whenever you're suggesting something to a client.

💬 こちら literally means "this side", but on the phone it means your own location or company. そちら means the other person's side.

💬 Add ていただけますか to a verb to politely ask someone to do something: 待っていただけますか "could you wait?"

💬 伺います (ukagaimasu) is a humble way to say "I'll visit", used instead of 行きます "I'll go" when going to someone you respect. 御社 (onsha) means "your company".

🇯🇵 御社 is the spoken word for the other party's company. In writing, people switch to 貴社 (kisha) "your company".

🇯🇵 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.

💬 Add に after a specific time to say "at" that time: 三時に "at three o'clock".

💬 Wrapping a verb as お + verb + しております makes it humble, so you lower yourself before the listener. It's built from 待つ "to wait".

🇯🇵 This is the usual way the host wraps up a scheduling call. It confirms the time and signals the call is ending, so the other person typically replies with よろしくお願いします "I look forward to it".

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