Nearly a million people have shared a mysterious phrase on social media this week - "Om Telolet Om"

The saying is particularly popular with DJs and has been the inspiration behind numerous tweets , videos and mash-ups.

But what does it mean? And where has it come from?

It originated in Indonesia, where young people have been using it to get the attention of bus driver.

Local buses in the country have customised horns that are apparently so good, people wait on the side of the road just to hear them.

Paris-based artist DJ Snake shared the phrase (
Image:
Twitter/@djsnake)
American Ansel Elgort also shared the phrase (
Image:
Twitter/@AnselElgort)

They call out to them "Om Telolet Om" in the hope the driver will toot their horn as they pass.

There are numerous videos showing the craze, after it went viral across Indonesia.

In them people can be seen holding up signs emblazoned with the saying.

German-based Zedd shared the phrase alongside a video taken during a recent visit to Indonesia (
Image:
Twitter/@zedd)
Young people beckon for the driver to toot their horn in Indonesia (
Image:
youtube/MyJournalVideo)

Breaking the phrase down even further, apparently "Telolet" represents the sound of the buses' horns, while "om" is a term for an older male, like 'uncle' or 'sir' in English.

So 'Om Telolet Om' roughly translates as 'Sir honk your horn sir'.

The phrase has spread into the music world after Indonesian youngsters spammed high-profile music artists with it - including DJ Snake and Ansel Elgort.

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It seemed the phrase hadn't quite reached buses in Australia yet (
Image:
Twitter/@Michael5SOS)

Since DJs have sampled the bus horns, including Dutch duo Firebeatz, who have collaborated in the past with artists like Calvin Harris and Tiesto

Writing underneath the clip, which has been viewed more than 300,000 times, they wrote: "Love for Indonesia and because this gives so much joy to a lot of people we decided to make a quick track with elements from some OM TELOLET OM movies :-)."

People were quick to catch onto the phrase online, but it seems it hasn't quite reached the roads in other countries yet.

Michael Clafford wrote on Twitter: "Just went outside and yelled om telolet om at a bus - obviously hasn;t made it to Australia yet."