Saying Goodbye in Japanese - Sayonara!

Bye mom! See ya later, Hideki! In English, expressing a farewell is as simple as just saying "goodbye". In Japanese, however, there are multiple ways of expressing this feeling depending on the circumstances. So before you say sayonara, delve into a few ways to say tata in Japanese, one of language's more nuanced aspects.

さようなら for specific farewells

Undoubtedly, one of the first words that comes up when you search goodbye in Japanese is the word さようなら (also, さよなら). Yes, this does mean goodbye in Japanese, but it has more of a "final goodbye" feeling to it.

Dramatic Goodbyes

This can be seen in movies and dramas when the two lovers or friends part with each other knowing that this may be the very last time they will see each other in a while. It can actually feel quite dramatic. This scene from the anime Death Note shows the main character (also murderer) sending someone who was hot on his trail to her death. Around 2:17, he bids her farewell using さようなら. This dramatic scene is exactly when sayonara would be used.

At School

Interestingly, sayonara is also commonly used in the classroom when saying goodbye, especially in elementary school classrooms. Young students are taught to say sayounara to the teacher when going home, which the teacher also uses towards the children. This, however, tends to change when students get into middle and high school. At that time, students tend to use 失礼します (shitsurei shimasu) towards the teacher since Japanese middle/high schools tend to expect more formal language as they grow into adults.

失礼します when saying goodbye in formal contexts

The word 失礼 (shitsurei) means rude or rudeness and, when combined with する (suru, meaning "to do"), you get another way to express a farewell. Literally, you are saying I am committing a rudeness (by leaving while everyone is still there).

Japanese is full of these roundabout ways of expressing certain meanings especially when it comes to formal contexts. This expression is commonly heard when leaving a classroom with your teacher still inside or towards your superiors when you leave their office. You can think of the English equivalent as "Please excuse me."

If can be made even more formal by using いたします instead of します:

You can combine it with （お）先に (o-saki ni, meaning "before everyone else") when you want to go home for the day from the office. Everyone you're leaving behind will follow up with お疲れ様でした (o-tsukare sama deshita, meaning something like, "thank you for your hard work"). The full interaction would go something like this:

行ってきます when leaving the home

When saying goodbye to your family members (or other housemates) with the intention of returning home again later, you can use the phrase 行ってきます (itte kimasu, literally meaning "I'll go and come back"). This phrase is usually paired with 行ってらっしゃい (itte rasshai, literally meaning "Go and come back"). Together, they form a set of expressions used whenever someone leaves the house:

じゃあ、また and other informal goodbyes

With friends and family members, there are a number of informal ways to give a farewell that do not imply a long-lasting goodbye. The examples to follow all come from the phrase:

Breaking this down, we get the following words:

Informal ways to say "bye" or "see ya" all stem from different combinations of these words and their variations. では and また, for instance, can combine to form this:

But では sounds a little rigid or stiff, so most people use its more casual form: じゃあ (also, じゃ):

Adding the "friendly comment" particle at the ends gives it a very friendly feel to the farewell:

Using な instead of ね essentially provides the same meaning, but sounds a tad more masculine.

And oftentimes the また is dropped altogether:

Older, rarer goodbyes

There are a couple of popular expressions that used to be more commonly used for farewells. Today, however, they are mostly used sarcastically or in a humorous, light-hearted way.

あばよ So long, partner

This is an older way to say "goodbye" that may have been used more seriously decades ago. Those who are familiar with Ken Naoko in the 70s or with Ultraman in the 80s and 90s may recall this phrase. Nowadays, however, no one actually uses it to mean goodbye and, instead, if it is used at all, it's used jokingly or to sound silly.

さらば Godspeed

This is also an outdated way to say goodbye. As with あばよ, it is used these days in a comical, light-hearted way. Some older men may also use this expression with じゃ:

バイバイ Bye-bye

And, of course, English rears its dominating head with an import of the ever-popular bye-bye. This is a very informal farewell expression and should only be used with your close friends or family. Since this word is imported from English, it should always be written in katakana (or else you risk confusing it with the word 売買 (baibai, meaning "buying and selling").

Now that we've learned several Japanese goodbyes: Goodbye!

There are a bunch of ways to say goodbye in Japanese. Hopefully this article was able to shed some light on just a few of the more popular ones.

And always remember:

And with that, this article bids you a humble farewell. またね！