BondLingo Learn Japanese

How to Greet People in Japanese ( Konnichiwa / Sayonara ) : Hello… Good morning… Goodbye… these are all common greetings in English, but how do we say them in Japanese? Today, we’re going to discuss the different types of greetings (挨拶, aisatsu) in Japanese for people you know quite well (friends, family, classmates, etc.) and for those you don’t know so well and social superiors. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Mornings –How to Greet People in Japanese

The sun is just peeking over the horizon, and sunlight spills in through your window. It’s morning! You wake up, throw the comforter off, and stretch your arms high up into the air. You’re feeling good today, so you leave your bedroom and greet your family in the kitchen with a big smile.

おはよう！Ohayō!

Ohayō is a casual way of saying “Good morning.” In English, it would be more along the lines of saying “‘Morning.” If, however, you are arriving at school or work, you would greet everyone with “Ohayō gozaimasu.” This is the most polite way to say it. Polite or formal speech is used to address groups of people, people you don’t know very well, and social superiors, such as bosses and teachers. Casual speech is used for people of equal or lesser social rank (classmates, less experienced co-workers, people the same age as you, people younger than you, etc.). It is said that Ohayou gozaimasu is used until 10am. However, if you are just beginning a work shift or it is the first time you’re greeting co-workers or classmates for the day, then you will often hear “Ohayou gozaimasu” even though it is well past 10am!

When leaving the house for the day to go to work, school, run errands, etc. it’s important to say “Itte kimasu,” which means, “I’m leaving now.” If it’s not you who is leaving, but someone else, you would respond to “Itte kimasu” with “Itterashai,” which means something along the lines of, “Come back soon.”

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu is a common Japanese aisatsu that conveys that the speaker wishes to have a good relationship with the people to whom s/he is speaking. It is often used as a final line at the end of a speech or when parting ways with customers or co-workers.

Morning Greetings – How to Greet People in Japanese

Afternoons
– How to Greet People in Japanese

Anytime after 10am is usually a good time to start saying Konnichiwa for “Good afternoon.”.

Otsukare sama desu has a variety of meanings. It can be said at the end of the day when leaving work or school to mean, “I’m going home after a hard day’s work.” It can also be used to mean “Good job” if someone is working hard to achieve something. Furthermore, it can mean a simple “Hey” if you’re passing someone in the hallway or wishing to bridge a conversation.

Gokurou sama desu is often used like Otsukare sama desu, except it is usually used by superiors when addressing those of lower rank. 

O-jama shimasu is used when entering someone else’s home or personal space. 

Afternoon Greetings – How to Greet People in Japanese

Evenings
– How to Greet People in Japanese

Once the sun starts to go down, and it’s visibly getting darker, it’s time to start saying Konbanwa for “Good evening.”

When returning home for the day, it’s important for the person coming in the door to say “Tadaima” and for anyone in the house to say, “O-kaeri nasai.” Tadaima means, “I’m home,” and O-kaeri nasai means, “Welcome back.”

Before eating, it is customary to press both of your hands together, hold your chopsticks with your thumbs, give a slight bow, and say, “Itadakimasu.” The rough meaning is, “Bon appetite,” but the nuance is more thanking the gods for providing food. When finished eating, it is then customary to say, “Gochisō sama deshita,” which is another expression of thanks for the food and a signal that one is getting up from the table. These are phrases used for every meal.

Afternoon Greetings – How to Greet People in Japanese

Now that you’ve learned some useful Japanese aisatsu, it’s time to get out there and practice them! Aisatsu is very important to the Japanese and an indispensable part of their culture, so don’t take these lightly! The more you use them, the more the Japanese will love you!

Practice, practice, practice! 

How to Greet People in Japanese

There are many phrases you can use to greet people in Japanese.
The simplest way to greet someone is “こんにちは” as many of you already know.

Greeting : Hello in Japanese

“おはよう” means good morning and “こんばんは” is a word when you greet someone in the night.

“ご機嫌（きげん）いかが” means how are you feeling in Japanese and this can be used to greet someone as well. “ごきげんよう” is another form of this phrase but casual. “お元気（げんき）ですか” means are you doing well and this is another way to greet people. “元気？” is a casual version of this word.

“よう” or “よっ” is a very casual way of greeting someone. We use this to close friends. I use this the most since I am a college student and I tend to meet many friends at my school. I have a feeling that males use this phrase more often.

“やあ” is another casual way of greeting people but not many people around me use this. However, it would sound natural even if you used this phrase.

Greeting : Good bye in Japanese

There are many ways to say “bye” too. The most frequently used word is “さようなら” in Japanese and I believe many of you already know this.

“じゃあね” is another way to say “bye” but is a casual way. “またね” is casual as well and it means “see you again”. We say this way because “また” means “again”. We can also say “また明日/来週/来月/来年” meaning see you tomorrow/next week/next month/next year.

“バイバイ” is also frequently used between people who have a close relationship. It come froms the word “bye bye” just like we say it in English.  

“あばよ” and “さらば” is another casual way of saying it but I do not find anyone saying this around me nowadays. It is not frequently used: however, you might find characters in Japanese animes or mangas using it. This is because if someone is using “あばよ” or “さらば” gives us a cool impression and many male characters use it. If some person in the real world was using it people might think that the person is trying to act cool.

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