電話をする

Using this phrase is incredibly easy. You just take the noun 電話 and pair it with the verb する. In a standard polite sentence, you would say 電話をします (denwa o shimasu). If you are chatting with a close friend, you can drop the particle を and just say 電話する (denwa suru). It’s like saying 'I’ll phone you' instead of 'I will make a phone call.' To say you called someone specific, use the particle に (ni) after the person's name. For example: Tanaka-san ni denwa o shimasu (I will call Mr. Tanaka). It’s a very modular phrase. You can add adverbs like ima (now) or ato de (later) to change the timing. Just remember that suru is an irregular verb, but it’s the most common one in the language!

This phrase is a social Swiss Army knife. Use it when you need to call a restaurant for a reservation. Use it when you're at the office and need to contact a client. Use it when you're texting a friend to say, 'Hey, I’ll call you in five minutes.' It is perfectly acceptable in almost every setting. If you are at a noisy party and need to step out, you can point to your phone and say denwa shite kuru (I’m going to go make a call). It covers everything from business deals to checking in on your grandma. It’s the safe, neutral choice for any voice-based outreach.

Don't use 電話をする if you are talking about sending a text message or a LINE chat. For those, you would use meeru o okuru or rain o suru. Also, avoid using it when you are the one *receiving* the call. If your phone is ringing, you don't 'do' the phone; you 'exit' into the call using denwa ni deru. It’s also a bit too plain for very high-stakes business apologies. In those cases, you might want a more humble verb. And please, don't use it to mean 'playing on your phone' or scrolling through social media. That’s usually sumaho o ijiru (fiddling with your smartphone).

Japan has a very specific phone culture. You’ll notice that people rarely talk on their phones on trains or buses. It’s considered rude to disturb the silence of the public space. If you must take a call, people usually give a quick 'I'm on the train, I'll call you back' and hang up immediately. Also, the way people answer is iconic. They say moshi moshi, which is a shortened version of mousu mousu (I speak, I speak). This was originally a way to prove you weren't a fox spirit, as foxes supposedly couldn't say it twice! While denwa o suru is the action, moshi moshi is the greeting that follows.

You will often hear 電話をかける (denwa o kakeru). This is a bit more formal and literally means 'to hang a call' (like on a wire). It implies a bit more intention. In business, you might hear お電話いたします (o-denwa itashimasu), which is the humble way to say you will call a superior or a customer. If you want to say 'call me back,' you’d say denwa o kake-naosu. If you are just 'calling out' to someone, you might use yobidasu. But for 95% of your life in Japan, denwa o suru will serve you perfectly.