6. Greetings
English: | Hello. / Good afternoon. |
Kana: | こんにちは。 |
Romanization: | Ko n ni ti wa* |
* This is a single-kana postposition whose actual sound is わ. We later learn it as the topic marker.
Note: It is uncommon to use this phrase for your family members.
English: | Good bye. |
Kana: | さようなら。 |
Romanization: | Sa yô na ra . |
Note: In colloquial Japanese, this phrase is often shortened to さよなら "sayonara".
English: | Good morning. |
Kana: | おはようございます。 |
Romanization: | O ha yô go za i ma su . |
Note: The phrase shown here is polite. You can say おはよう "ohayô" if politeness is not required. It should be the first greeting between you and a person you talk to in the morning. It is not so common to use it twice a day for the same person, while in English some people use "Good morning" to mean "Goodbye" in the morning.
English: | Good evening. |
Kana: | こんばんは。 |
Romanization: | Ko n ba n wa* . |
* This is also the topic marker.
Note: It is uncommon to use this phrase for your family members.
English: | Good night. |
Kana: | おやすみなさい。 |
Romanization: | O ya su mi na sa i . |
Note: This phrase is used only when you are expected to go to bed in a few hours, perhaps past 9 p.m. or so. You can also say おやすみ "oyasumi", which is more casual. It should be the last greeting between you and a person you talk to in the night. It is not so common to use it twice a day for the same person, while in English some people use "Goodnight" to mean "Goodbye" in the evening.
English: | Thank you very much. |
Kana: | ありがとうございます。 |
Romanization: | A ri ga tô go za i ma su . |
Note: The phrase shown here is polite. You can merely say ありがとう "arigatô" if politeness is not required.
You can add the word どうも "dômo" before them, such as どうもありがとうございます "dômo arigatô gozaimasu" and どうも ありがとう "dômo arigatô". The word どうも "dômo" itself can be used as a simple version of "thank you."
English: | You are welcome. (as a reply to thank you) |
Kana: | どういたしまして。 |
Romanization: | Dô i ta si ma si te . |
English: | (none) |
Kana: | いただきます。 |
Romanization: | I ta da ki ma su. |
Note: It is good manners to say this phrase before you have a meal. The literal translation is "I begin to eat," but it means "thank you for the meal."
English: | (none) |
Kana: | ごちそうさまでした。 |
Romanization: | Go ti sô sa ma de si ta. |
Note: It is good manners to say this phrase after you have a meal. The literal translation is "it was a delicious meal," but it means "thank you for the meal."
English: | I'm sorry. |
Kana: | ごめんなさい。 |
Romanization: | Go me n na sa i . |
Note: Saying this phrase does not necessarily mean admitting that you are to blame. In Japanese culture, it is important to say some apology before blaming someone.
English: | Excuse me. |
Kana: | すみません。 |
Romanization: | Su mi ma se n. |
Note: This phrase is similar to the previous one but lighter in meaning. It is often used to talk to someone you don't know. In colloquial Japanese, it often becomes すいません "suimasen".
English: | A happy new year. |
Kana: | あけましておめでとうございます。 |
Romanization: | A ke ma si te o me de tô go za i ma su |
Note: The phrase shown here is polite. You can say あけましておめでとう "akemasite omedetô" if politeness is not required. In Japan, the new year is much more important than Christmas because few Japanese people are Christian. People mail ねんがじょう "nengazyô" (new year cards) in late December, and the post office delivers them on the new year day, which is the busiest day for the post office. Some people even write hundreds of new year cards for all of their acquaintances.