Can I use もしもしif I want to get someone/group to pay attention?


I want to ensure that people are listening to what I am saying, when they may
occasionally get side tracked. I hear the term used on the phone regularly,
but wonder if the term can be used with groups of people. Thanks.




With a large group of people, you **_could_** use 「もしもし」 in order to draw
their attention. You would, however, need to know that that would be a rather
humorous (and a bit unusual) way of using the phrase. I would at least not use
it repeatedly with the same group.

With a single stranger or a small group of strangers, it is O.K. to use 「もしもし」
to mean " ** _Excuse me!_** " You just need to know that this usage, though
once just normal, has rapidly been becoming less and less common. It would
often be a very old person using 「もしもし」 that way.

For the majority of present-day native speakers, the only place they say
「もしもし」 is on the phone.

In fact, the only one time someone has said 「もしもし」 to me on the street in the
last several years has been by a foreigner who thought it just meant "hello".




With a large group of people, you **_could_** use 「もしもし」 in order to draw
their attention. You would, however, need to know that that would be a rather
humorous (and a bit unusual) way of using the phrase. I would at least not use
it repeatedly with the same group.

With a single stranger or a small group of strangers, it is O.K. to use 「もしもし」
to mean " ** _Excuse me!_** " You just need to know that this usage, though
once just normal, has rapidly been becoming less and less common. It would
often be a very old person using 「もしもし」 that way.

For the majority of present-day native speakers, the only place they say
「もしもし」 is on the phone.

In fact, the only one time someone has said 「もしもし」 to me on the street in the
last several years has been by a foreigner who thought it just meant "hello".

