What is the difference between こんにちは and もしもし?


I will be in Japan in a few weeks and I am trying to learn the basic to be as
polite as possible.

One of the first things I did was try some basic stuff with Google Translate
but I feel lost already.

When I try to translate `hello` from english to japanese I get:
[`こんにちは`](http://translate.google.com/#en/ja/hello)

When I try `Hello` I get: [`もしもし`](http://translate.google.com/#en/ja/Hello)

Why is there a difference, is this a Google issue or there is a real
difference between both? Which one should I use to say: **Hello**

Thanks!




こんにちは is "Hello!" or "Good day!", a greeting for meeting someone in any sort
of circumstance.

もしもし is how you answer a phone. Usually both parties say もしもし in turn, before
the caller identifies himself ("Hi, it's John"). Outside phone conversations,
it is also used to get someone's attention, but I feel it is quite direct,
more like "Hey!". (To get someone's attention, the better alternative would be
to clear your throat, say え～っと, or すみません, or any combination of these three
options.)

To summarize, use こんにちは when you mean "Hello!" and もしもし only when answering
the phone.




こんにちは is "Hello!" or "Good day!", a greeting for meeting someone in any sort
of circumstance.

もしもし is how you answer a phone. Usually both parties say もしもし in turn, before
the caller identifies himself ("Hi, it's John"). Outside phone conversations,
it is also used to get someone's attention, but I feel it is quite direct,
more like "Hey!". (To get someone's attention, the better alternative would be
to clear your throat, say え～っと, or すみません, or any combination of these three
options.)

To summarize, use こんにちは when you mean "Hello!" and もしもし only when answering
the phone.

