もう一度言って？
mō ichido itte?
In Japanese, the phrase "come again" can mean several things depending on whether you want someone to repeat themselves or if you are inviting them to visit again. The default form for asking someone to repeat something is もう一度言って？ (mō ichido itte?)
The phrase もう一度言って？ is used to ask someone to repeat what they just said.
Meaning: could you repeat that (intj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase もう一度 literally means "one more time."
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
If you are looking for very casual ways to say "what?" or "come again?" among friends, you can use なんて？ For a business or service context, inviting a customer to return is handled with much more formal language, such as またのお越しをお待ちしております。 which means "We look forward to your next visit."
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase もう一度言って？, the use of the question mark and rising intonation indicates a request. If you drop the question mark and the rising intonation, the phrase becomes もう一度言って, which functions as a casual command meaning "say it one more time."
How do you pronounce it?
mō ichido itte?
Did you know?
- While もう一度言って？ is common, using the word はい？ with a rising intonation is a standard way to politely signal that you did not catch what was said.
- While English speakers use 'come again' to mean 'repeat that', saying the literal translation また来て (mata kite) to a person who spoke too quickly would sound like you are inviting them to visit your house.
- In very casual speech, Japanese speakers often shorten なんて？ to just ん？ with a rising tone to ask someone to repeat themselves.
Examples in context
- ごめん、もう一度言って？Gomen, mou ichido itte?Sorry, could you say that again?
- よく聞こえなかったから、もう一度言って？Yoku kikoenakatta kara, mou ichido itte?I couldn't hear you well, so could you repeat that?
Example conversation
Yui and Yota are talking in a noisy room.
- 結衣 Yui明日の予定は、駅の前で待ち合わせね。ashita no yotei wa, eki no mae de machiawase ne.For tomorrow's plans, let's meet in front of the station.
- 陽太 Yotaえ？もう一度言って？e? mou ichido itte?Huh? Could you repeat that?
- 結衣 Yui駅の前で待ち合わせしようってこと！eki no mae de machiawase shiyou tte koto!I said let's meet in front of the station!
- 陽太 Yotaわかった。駅の前ね！wakatta. eki no mae ne!Got it. In front of the station!
