Top 12 Greetings in Japanese
June 13, 2024
Greetings are an important aspect of any language and are used to acknowledge someone's presence, initiate communication, or show respect and friendliness. They are a fundamental part of social interaction and can vary widely across different cultures and contexts. Japanese, in particular, has its own set of greetings that you should be familiar with for smooth communication.
Ohayōgozaimasu - おはようございます
Meaning: Good morning
Usage: From sunrise to noon
Kanji form: 御早う御座います
Note: Often shortened to おはよう in casual settings
The morning greeting, おはようございます, is believed to have originated from Kabuki theater. Kabuki actors, needing ample time for preparation, would arrive and start getting ready well before the performance started. In turn, backstage and lower-ranked staff would use the phrase お早いお着きでございます, which means "You have arrived early," as a form of encouragement. Over time, this phrase evolved into its current form.
In addition to おはよう (ohayō), there is also the greeting おそよう (osoyō), which has a sarcastic connotation. The origin of おはよう stems from the word 早う (hayau), meaning "early", while おそよう is derived from 遅い (osoi), meaning "late." Thus, it can be used as a sarcastic greeting for someone who arrives late in the morning.
Konnichiwa - こんにちは
Meaning: Good day
When to use: From noon to right before sunset
Kanji form: 今日は
Note: -
A long time ago, greetings like 今日は、ご機嫌いかがですか (How are you today?) and 今日は、いいお天気ですね (Nice weather today, isn't it?) have been used. However, in the Meiji era, textbooks omitted the part of the greeting following 今日は and instead wrote こんにちは, which became widely adopted.
While in writing こんにちわ is occasionally used by some people as well, knowing its origin tells us that こんにちは is the correct form.
Kombanwa - こんばんは
Meaning: Good evening
When to use: From sunset to right before sunrise
Kanji form: 今晩は
Note: -
こんばんは originally included additional words, similar to こんにちは. However, these words were eventually omitted, resulting in the simplified form こんばんは.
Oyasuminasai - おやすみなさい
Meaning: Good night
When to use: Before someone goes to bed
Kanji form: 御休みなさい
Note: Often shortened to おやすみ in casual speech
おやすみなさい is used when another person is about to go to bed, to wish them a good night. Since it seems that it is constructed from the word 休む (yasumu), meaning "to rest", and the command form なさい (nasai), some people may find this phrase odd, as it seems like you are giving an order to someone. This good night phrase is thought to come from ゆっくりとお休みになってください, originally meaning "Please have a restful sleep," which was used by innkeepers. Eventually, it evolved into the abbreviated form おやすみなさい we know today.
Hajimemashite - はじめまして
Meaning: Nice to meet you
When to use: When meeting someone for the first time
Kanji form: 初めまして; 始めまして
Note: -
初めまして is a greeting that is used when meeting someone for the first time. It's believed to be a shortened version of phrases like 初めましてお目にかかりまして (Nice to meet you for the first time), which simply acknowledges the first encounter.
Interestingly, this greeting ends with the conjunctive て-form, which indicates the continuation of an action, thus hinting that further words will follow. In practice, it's often followed by self-introductions such as 初めまして、高橋と申します (Nice to meet you, I'm Takahashi).
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu - よろしくおねがいします
Meaning: Please remember me; please treat me well
When to use: -
Kanji form: 宜しく御願いします
Note: Sometimes shortened to よろしく in casual settings, or よろ if you want to be really casual
よろしくお願いします can be broken down into two parts: よろしく and お願いします.
The latter part, お願いします, is a common phrase used when making a request, similar to "please" in English.
As for the former part, よろしく, it's an older Japanese term that conveys a meaning like "suitably" or "properly".
よろしくお願いします could be directly translated to something like "Please do properly". However, as is typical for Japanese, it is a rather vague expression that leaves the action open to interpretation. Putting the phrase together, you can think of the translation as "Please do what you think is appropriate within your capabilities." This vague approach is helpful because it makes an outright refusal less likely and improves the flow of the conversation.
Despite often being associated with a greeting when first meeting someone, よろしくお願いします has a much broader usage than that. Here are some of the most common ones.
As "Nice to meet you" in a self-introduction
When introducing oneself for the first time, after stating one's name, place of origin, occupation, etc., one says よろしくお願いします at the end. In this context, it is equivalent to "Nice to meet you" in English.
When starting a meeting or interview
After the facilitator gives the opening remarks, they say よろしくお願いします. In this context, it carries the meaning similar to "Shall we begin" or "Let's get started" in English. It's common for participants to respond by saying よろしくお願いします in return.
When expressing gratitude
As mentioned earlier, よろしくお願いします doesn't necessarily specify requests, but it can be used for making them.
ご確認のほどよろしくお願いいたします (I kindly ask for your confirmation.)
Adding よろしく when making a request can soften it, conveying the sentiment of "I would like to request."
Used at the end of an email
While it's rarely used between friends, in business settings, よろしくお願いします is typically written at the end of emails. This usage is similar to "Best regards" or "Yours truly" in English.
よろしくお願いします is used in various other situations as well. For example, when confessing feelings or proposing to someone, they might respond with よろしくお願いします as a way of saying "OK".
As you can see, due to its various usages, よろしくお願いします is one of those expressions that is better learned through getting copious amounts of exposure to the language.
Itadakimasu - いただきます
Meaning: Thank you (for the meal just served)
When to use: Before starting to eat
Kanji form: 頂きます
Note: -
いただきます comes from the word いただく (itadaku). いただく originally referred to the act of raising something over ones head when consuming an offering in honor of the gods, or when receiving something from someone of higher status. From this, it came to be used as an honorific expression for "eating" or "receiving".
Eventually, いただきます established itself as a customary pre-meal greeting.
いただきます expresses gratitude in two ways.
The first is gratitude towards those that were involved in preparing the meal, serving it, growing the vegetables, catching the fish, and any others who contributed to it.
The second is gratitude towards the ingredients. Not only for animals who gave their life, but also for vegetables and fruits, as it is believed that they also have life force.
Gochisōsama - ごちそうさま
Meaning: Thank you for the meal
When to use: After finishing a meal
Kanji form: 御馳走様
Note: Sometimes shortened to just ごち in very informal situations
In the past, before refrigerators and supermarkets existed as they do now, gathering ingredients was a challenging task. 馳走 (chisō) originally meant to run around, depicting the effort put into preparing and serving a meal. By adding the polite prefix 御 (go) and the honorific suffix 様 (sama) to 馳走, it became ごちそうさま.
In modern times, various ingredients are easily accessible all around us. However, planning daily menus, shopping, and preparing meals still requires considerable effort. Therefore, ごちそうさま or ごちそうさまでした are used as expressions of gratitude and appreciation for the hard work.
Itterasshai - いってらっしゃい
Meaning: Have a good day; take care
When to use: Parting phrase directed at someone leaving
Kanji form: 行ってらっしゃい
Note: -
Originally いってらっしゃい was created by combining 行って (iku), meaning "to go," and いらっしゃい (irasshai), meaning "to come," and creating a phrase that encompasses both.
いってらっしゃい carries the meaning of "Go and return safely," emphasizing a wish for the person to depart and return safely.
Ittekimasu - いってきます
Meaning: I'm off; see you later
When to use: Parting phrase used by the person leaving
Kanji form: 行って来ます
Note: -
行ってきます combines 行く (iku), meaning "to go", and 帰ってきます (kaettekimasu), meaning "coming back." Therefore, it carries the meaning of "I'm leaving now, and I'll be back". In the past, traveling was often dangerous, so by saying いってきます, it was like making a vow to return without fail.
Tadaima - ただいま
Meaning: I'm home!; I'm back!
When to use: Said when one has returned or come home
Kanji form: 只今
Note: -
ただいま is thought of as being a shortened form of 只今帰りました (I have just returned).
今 (ima) on its own already expresses "now", while 只今 intensifies this meaning, signifying not just the present moment but also indicating very recent past events, such as "just now" or "a moment ago."
Okaerinasai - おかえりなさい
Meaning: Welcome home
When to use: Greeting said by the person already there towards someone coming home
Kanji form: 御帰りなさい
Note: Often shortened to おかえり
Originally, お帰りなさい was expressed as よくご無事に、お帰りなさいました (Welcome back, I'm glad you've returned safely), but it was shortened over time to the form we know today.
There is also a more polite form with お帰りなさいませ.
As you can see greetings in Japanese are often not simply words, but constructs made with different grammar structures applied to them. Learning these grammar points can help you memorize specific greetings and make more sense of them. If you want to learn all of this through a comprehensive course, we recommend you to try out our Migaku Japanese Academy course, which allows you to easily study Japanese online.