Saying hello and see you in Japanese
English has "hello" for any hour, but a Japanese greeting usually follows the clock. In this lesson you'll greet someone in the morning, during the day and in the evening, then part from a friend with a casual "see you". You don't need to read Japanese script yet: every line has audio and a short translation, and these notes spell the sounds in Latin letters.
Model: three meetings in one day
Ana meets her neighbour, Mrs Sato, three times in one day: in the morning, in the afternoon and after dark. Listen for what changes from one pair of lines to the next: おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu), こんにちは (konnichiwa), こんばんは (konbanwa). Each time, Mrs Sato answers with the greeting she has just heard.
- Aformal
おはようございます。
- Bformal
おはようございます。
- A
こんにちは。
- B
こんにちは。
- A
こんばんは。
- B
こんばんは。
With a neighbour, let the hour choose the greeting
A Japanese greeting depends on the encounter: the time of day and how close you are to the person. With a neighbour or someone you don't know well, say おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu) in the morning, こんにちは (konnichiwa) during the day and こんばんは (konbanwa) once it's dark. The hours aren't exact: こんにちは (konnichiwa) can already work in late morning, so it's wider than the translation "Good afternoon!", yet it isn't a "hello" for every hour either. Don't use こんばんは (konbanwa) to say "good night": it greets someone you're meeting. Within a family, こんにちは (konnichiwa) and こんばんは (konbanwa) are rarely heard.
- おはようございます。Good morning!
- こんにちは。Good afternoon!
- こんばんは。Good evening!
With a friend: おはよう (ohayō) and またね (mata ne)
In the morning Ana runs into her friend Yuki at university; hours later, they part. おはよう (ohayō) is the short form of おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu), used among friends and family: for now, just recognize it. The line to learn here is またね (mata ne), "see you". また (mata) means "again", so this farewell looks ahead to the next meeting.
No Japanese goodbye fits everyone
"Goodbye" suits almost any parting in English, but no Japanese farewell stretches that far. またね (mata ne) is for friends and people close to you; to a boss or a stranger it sounds too familiar. さようなら (sayōnara), the second line below, is only for recognizing here: you'll hear it from pupils leaving their teacher, or from people who won't meet again for a long time. Between colleagues or friends who'll meet tomorrow it can sound distant, so the translation "Goodbye!" is only an approximation. Other situations call for other farewells, which this lesson doesn't cover.
Your turn, and a summary
Say each line aloud before you look down. You meet your neighbour at 8 a.m., then again at 3 p.m., then at 8 p.m.; last, you part from a friend you'll see again. The four lines below answer in that order. In short: when you meet a neighbour or someone you don't know well, the hour chooses between おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu), こんにちは (konnichiwa) and こんばんは (konbanwa); when you leave a friend, you say またね (mata ne). おはよう (ohayō) and さようなら (sayōnara) are just for recognizing when you hear them.
- formal
おはようございます。
こんにちは。
こんばんは。
- informal
またね！