Basic Japanese Greetings of Recent Article

The Japanese greet many ways depending on the time of day.

 

Greetings are important to know in Japan.

The Japanese greet many ways depending on the time of day.
For instance, saying "Hello" takes many different forms, depending on the time of day.

 

 

Saying Hello

The Japanese have three major greetings based on morning, afternoon, and evening.

1. Good Morning: おはようございます(ohayou gozaimasu)
2. Hello or Good Afternoon: こんにちは(konnichiwa)
3. Good Evening: こんばんわ(konbanwa)
   

 

Saying Goodbye

Goodbye is done in two ways.
Say "Sayounara" for goodbyes that are more formal or more permanent.
A simple informal "bai bai" (=bye-bye) is fine for friends.
Occasionally you will hear Japanese use "Jaa-ne" or "Jaa-matane".
Literally, it would probably be more akin to "well, all right then," but it is employed in the same way as you would say "bye bye", or "see you".

1. Goodbye: さようなら/さよなら(sayounara/sayonara)
2. See you: バイバイ/じゃあね/じゃあまたね(bai bai/jaa-ne/jaa-matane)

 

Greeting when you leave home for school, work, a trip, or whatever reason

"Itterasshai" is what is normally said when sending someone off.
It literally means "go and return" and it's ittekimasu's response.
"Ki wo tsukete(ne)" is often used with "Itterasshai", it means "be careful" or "stay safe"

1. Have a nice day/Bye/See you/Take care: いってらっしゃい/行ってらっしゃい(itterasshai)
2. Be careful/Stay safe: きをつけて（ね）/気をつけて（ね）(ki wo tsukete[ne])
3. I'm going/I'm leaving/Bye/See you: いってきます/行ってきます(ittekimasu)

 

Greeting when you get home for school, work, a trip, or whatever reason

It's a salutations for going home.
"Tadaima" means "I'm home".
And my family members say "Okaeri" or "Okaerinasai" to me after I say "Tadaima".
"Okaeri" or "Okaerinasai" is tadaima's response, and it's a greeting to confirm family's (friend and partner) safety.
We feel that these words "Okaeri" and "Tadaima" symbolize family(friends and partners) ties.

1. I'm home/I'm back: ただいま(tadaima)
2. How was your work?/How was your day?: おかえり（なさい）/お帰り（なさい）(okaeri nasai)

 

Saying Good night

The word "yasumi" by itself means rest, a break as in a coffee break, or a vacation.
The expression "Oyasumi nasai" is commonly said to people who are going to bed.
It means "Please have a rest" or in other words, "Good night."

• Good night: おやすみ（なさい）/お休み（なさい）

 

 

*The time of each image is "Rough standard time."
*The hiragana, the katakana, and Mixed kana-kanji: The word written by a black-character is used most in Japan.  

Good Morning

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	おはよう ohayou	おはようございます ohayou gozaimasu
Katakana	オハヨウ ohayou	オハヨウゴザイマス ohayou gozaimasu
Mixed kana-kanji	お早う ohayou	お早う御座います ohayou gozaimasu

Top  

I'm going/I'm leaving/Bye/See you

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	いってきます itte kimasu	いってまいります itte mairimasu
Katakana	イッテキマス itte kimasu	イッテマイリマス itte mairimasu
Mixed kana-kanji	行ってきます itte kimasu	行って参ります itte mairimasu

Have a nice day/Bye/See you/Take care

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	いってらっしゃい itte rasshai	いってらっしゃいませ itte rasshai mase
Katakana	イッテラッシャイ itte rasshai	イッテラッシャイマセ itte rasshai mase
Mixed kana-kanji	行ってらっしゃい itte rasshai	行ってらっしゃいませ itte rasshai mase

Be careful/Stay safe

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	きをつけて（ね） ki wo tsukete(ne)	おきをつけて o ki wo tsukete
Katakana	キヲツケテ（ネ） ki wo tsukete(ne)	オキヲツケテ o ki wo tsukete
Mixed kana-kanji	気をつけて（ね） ki wo tsukete(ne)	お気をつけて itte rasshai mase

Top

Goodbye/See you

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	ばいばい bai bai またね matane じゃあまたね jaa matane	さよなら/さようなら sayonara/sayounara
Katakana	バイバイ bai bai マタネ matane ジャアマタネ jaa matane	サヨナラ/サヨウナラ sayonara/sayounara

Hello/Good Afternoon

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	こんにちは konnichiwa	*The honorific doesn't exist because "Konnichiwa" is an interjection.
Katakana	コンニチワ konnichiwa
Mixed kana-kanji	今日は konnichiwa

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*Use "おはよう(ohayou)" from waking to about 12:00, "こんにちは(konnichiwa)" until dusk, "こんばんは(konbanwa)" throughout the evening, and "Oyasumi" only before bed or sleeping.

Good Evening

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	こんばんは konbanwa	*The honorific doesn't exist because "Konbanwa" is an interjection.
Katakana	コンバンハ konbanwa
Mixed kana-kanji	今晩は konbanwa

I'm home/I'm back

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	ただいま tadaima	ただいまかえりました tadaima kaeri mashita ただいまもどりました tadaima modori mashita
Katakana	タダイマ tadaima	タダイマカエリマシタ tadaima kaeri mashita タダイマモドリマシタ tadaima modori mashita
Mixed kana-kanji	只今 tadaima	只今帰りました tadaima kaeri mashita 只今戻りました tadaima modori mashita

Top

How was your work?/How was your day?

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	おかえり okaeri	おかえりなさい okaeri nasai
Katakana	オカエリ okaeri	オカエリナサイ okaeri nasai
Mixed kana-kanji	お帰り okaeri	お帰りなさい okaeri nasai

Good night

Japanese	Informal Japanese	Formal Japanese
Hiragana	おやすみ oyasumi	おやすみなさい oyasumi nasai
Katakana	オヤスミ oyasumi	オヤスミナサイ oyasumi nasai
Mixed kana-kanji	お休み oyasumi	お休みなさい oyasumi nasai

Hararie

 

Sanshodo-Kotoba tsukaikata ejiten

三省堂ことばつかいかた絵じてん [sanshoudou kotoba tsukaikata e jiten]   In this page, I used the image of this book. This is a book for children in Japan to learn basic Japanese. In this book, the word of Japan that we use in daily life is explained with the image, and it is very convenient. This book will be very useful for you who is learning Japanese. *You can buy this book in Japanese Amazon. (It is not sold outside Japan.)

 

"Hello" and "Good evening" in Japanese

<こんにちは(konnichiwa); Hello>:

"Konnichiwa" is general greeting of saying hello in Japanese.
You can use "Konnichiwa" any time of the day.
Basically, the greeting word "Konnichiwa" is used from about 10:00AM to about 6:00PM.
(It is "Time the sun is shining" actually.)

<こんばんわ(konbanwa); Good evening>:
Konbanwa means "Good Evening".
It's usually used in formal conversation, and "Konbanwa" is a fixed greeting.

Or, expression "おばんでございます(obande gozaimasu)" is used. (It's the Touhoku dialect.)
If you're in Sendai, the largest city in north-east Japan, they may refer to it as Sendaiben.
In all of these cases, "ben" means dialect.

 

 

Writing "Hello" and "Good evening" in Japanese

There are two ways of writing "Konnichiwa and Konbanwa".

1. Writing in the hiragana and kanji

Kanji and Konnichiwa in the hiragana have the meaning "Today".
"Konnichiwa" in the hiragana and kanji is "Today + particle "は(ha)".

There is a rule for writing hiragana "わ(wa)" and "は(ha)".
When "わ(wa)" is used as a particle, it is written in hiragana as "は(ha)".
However, in the old days it was a part of sentence such as "Tonight(今晩[konban] is(は[wa]) " and "わ(wa)" functioned as a particle.
That's why it is still written in hiragana as "は(ha)".

 

2. Writing only in the hiragana.

Typically "konnichiwa" is written "こんにちはorこんにちわ".
Writing "Konnichiwa and Konbanwa" in the hiragana is the most general.
And the use of hiragana "は(ha)" is correct.
Therefore, "こんにちは/今日は(konnichiwa)" and "こんばんは/今晩は(konbanwa)" are the most correct, general writing.

English	Hello	Pronunciation
Hiragana	こんにちは	konnichiwa
Katakana	コンニチハ
Kanji & Hiragana	今日は

English	Good evening	Pronunciation
Hiragana	こんばんは	konbanwa
Katakana	コンバンハ
Kanji & Hiragana	今晩は

Conversation: "Konnichiwa" and "Konbanwa".

Hello, How are you?
Japanese	Colloquialism: 今日はor今晩は、元気？ Honorific: 今日はor今晩は、ご機嫌いかが（ですか）？
Hiragna	Colloquialism: こんにちはorこんばんは、げんき？ Honorific: こんにちはorこんばんは、ごきげんいかが（ですか）？
Katakana	Colloquialism: コンニチハorコンバンハ、ゲンキ？ Honorific: コンニチハorコンバンハ、ゴキゲンイカガ（デスカ）？
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: konnichiwa or konbanwa, genki? Honorific: konnichiwa or konbanwa, gokigen ikaga desuka?

Hello, How's it going?
Japanese	Colloquialism: 今日はor今晩は、調子はどう？ Honorific: 今日はor今晩は、調子はいかがですか？
Hiragna	Colloquialism: こんにちはorこんばんは、ちょうしはどう？ Honorific: こんにちはorこんばんは、ちょうしはいかがですか？
Katakana	Colloquialism: コンニチハorコンバンハ、チョウシハドウ？ Honorific: コンニチハorコンバンハ、チョウシハイカガデスカ？
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: konnichiwa or konbanwa, chooshi wa doo? Honorific: konnichiwa or konbanwa, choushi wa ikaga desuka?

 

<The answer to "Konnichiwa" and "Konbanwa">:

How about you?
Japanese	Colloquialism: あなたor君orそっち はどう？ Honorific: あなたorそちら はいかがですか？
Hiragna	Colloquialism: あなたorきみorそっち はどう？ Honorific: あなたorそちら はいかがですか？
Katakana	Colloquialism: アナタorキミorソッチ ハドウ？ Honorific: アナタorソチラ ハイカガデスカ？
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: anata or kimi or socchi wa doo? Honorific: anata or sochira wa ikaga desuka?

Great!/Pretty good"
Japanese	Colloquialism: めちゃめちゃorすごい元気！ Honorific: とてもorとっても元気です。
Hiragna	Colloquialism: めちゃめちゃorすごいげんき！ Honorific: とてもorとってもげんきです！
Katakana	Colloquialism: メチャメチャorスゴイ ゲンキ！ Honorific: トテモorトッテモ ゲンキデス！
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: mechamecha or sugoi genki! Honorific: totemo or tottemo genki desu!

Good!
Japanese	Colloquialism: うん、元気。 Honorific: はい、元気です。
Hiragna	Colloquialism: うん、げんき。 Honorific: はい、げんきです。
Katakana	Colloquialism: ウン、ゲンキ。 Honorific: ハイ、ゲンキデス。
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: un, genki. Honorific: hai, genki desu.

Not bad/I'm OK
Japanese	Colloquialism: まあまあかな。 Honorific: まあまあです。　　 *"maa maa" doesn't have kanji.
Hiragna	Colloquialism: まあまあかな。 Honorific: まあまあです。
Katakana	Colloquialism: マアマア カナ。 Honorific: マアマア デス。
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: maa maa kana. Honorific: maa maa desu.

 

Well, I'm OK.
Japanese	Colloquialism: うーん、まあまあかな。 Honorific: そうですねー、まあまあです。
Hiragna	Colloquialism: うーん、まあまあかな。 Honorific: そうですねー、まあまあです。
Katakana	Colloquialism: ウーン、マアマアカナ。 Honorific: ソウデスネー、マアマアデス。
Pronunciation	Colloquialism: u---n, maa maa kana. Honorific: soodesune--, maa maa desu.

 

 

Some questions to "Yahoo answer"

A lot of questions on "Konnichiwa" and "Konbanwa" and the answers are in "Yahoo answer".
If you don't mind, read the questions and answers.

Q: How do you write konnichiwa?

How do you write konnichiwa? In hiragana? Why do they have an extra "n" in there? Isn't that redundant? Is there some obscure grammatical rule that explains this?

A.

The extra "n" is in there, because that's how the word is pronounced. It's actually a compound word that literally means "this day". "今(kon)" is "Now or This"; "日(nichi)" is "Day". To take out the first "n" would make the word sound really funny. Like in English, in the compound word "penknife" (pen+knife) you are really saying the sound "n" twice. Try saying it without that first "ん(n)". Penife. Sounds funny and wrong, doesn't it! It's the same for the Japanese! Just saying "konichiwa" sounds funny; so make sure you add that extra "ん(n)"!

Q. How to properly write konnichiwa in Japanese?

How to properly write konnichiwa in Japanese? I'm just starting to learn Japanese and know my Hiragana. As such I would assume konnichiwa to be written as: こんにちわbut i've also seen it as: こんにちは Which is right? and why?

A.

Traditionally,"こんにちは" is correct. But these days a lot of the young generation write こんにちわ as well. Although no one thinks of it literally anymore, if we break it down, literally, it means "Today is", or "This day is". This means that the WA at the end is a grammatical particle, not a part of a noun. As you may have already learnt, we use the character "は(ha)"for the grammatical particle pronounced as "wa", meaning "is". Example: Kare 'WA' nihonjin desu. (He is Japanese) In this case, we use "は". Because of this, sometimes in Roman characters (English alphabet) the Japanese will write "Kare HA nihonjin desu" but still pronounced "wa". For other "wa"わ, for example for a noun such as "niwa" (garden) we would use the character わ. Example: Niwa ni wani ga iru. (There is a crocodile in the garden). Both 'wa' will use "わ".

Q. What is the difference between these three words for Konnichiwa?

What is the difference between these three words for Konnichiwa? こんにちは- isn't that ending in Ha? When it should be Wa? こんにちわ- this ending in Wa. 今日は- is this also ok?
A.	"こんにちは and 今日は" are orthographical. "こんにちは" looks softer. Spelling "こんにちわ" is wrong but often used among younger people.

Read More: "Yahoo answers; Konnichiwa"

 

Q. Is saying konbanwa gozaimasu acceptable in Japanese?

Is saying konbanwa gozaimasu acceptable in Japanese? I know you can say ohayoo gozaimasu is the formal way of saying ohayoo. So does that mean that konbanwa gozaimasu would be acceptable too? like a formal version of konbanwa?
A.	No, you shouldn't say "こんばんは ございます(konbanwa gozaimasu)" -it is not correct. It may seem to, and I do understand how you came to the conclusion, but it is not used that way. Konbanwa has no collocations that I know of, and is simply used by itself unlike ohayoo. The same applies to Konnichiwa, you can not add "gozaimasu" to that either.
R.H.	Advice from hararie: It is better to use expression "おばんでございます(obande gozaimasu)" if you want to speak "Konbanwa" politely.

Q. What the difference between konbanwa and konichiwa?

What the difference between konbanwa and konichiwa?
A.	Konbawa means 'good evening' and konnichiwa means 'good afternoon' . Konnichiwa can also be used as 'hello' =)
R.H.	Advice from hararie: Konnichiwa is as the case may be used at night.

Read More: "Yahoo answers; Konbanwa"

Hararie