Learn Japanese
Basic but very useful greetings in Japanese
1. おはようございます！ (Ohayou gozaimasu: “Good morning!”)
2. こんにちは! (Konnichiwa: “Hello” or “Good afternoon”)
3. こんばんは! (Konbanwa: “Good evening”)
4. おやすみなさい!(Oyasumi nasai: “Goodnight”)
5. いい天気ですね！(Ii tenki desu ne: “Good weather, huh!”)
6. お元気ですか? (Ogenki desu ka: “How are you?”)
It is common to greet everyone with “How are you?” in English; it’s not the case in Japanese.
You use this phrase most of the time when it’s been some time since you’ve met the person.
7. お久しぶりです！(Ohisashiburi desu: “Long time, no see!”)
You can use it.
8. おひさしぶりです。おげんきですか？
Long time, no see! How are you?
9. さようなら！ (Sayounara: “See you later” or “Goodbye”)
10. ただいまー (Tadaima-: “I’m home”)
When someone comes back/returns home, they say this phrase. Then, whoever is home replies…
11. おかえりなさい! (Okaeri nasai: “Welcome home” or “Welcome back”)
You can also use these two phrases to greet a coworker if they’ve returned to work from somewhere else, like a business meeting or trip.
12. 失礼します (Shitsurei shimasu: “Please excuse me (for leaving)”)
There are several different meanings of this phrase. But the basic use is when you leave ahead of someone else, you say this as an apology for leaving before them.
13. お疲れ様でした (Otsukaresama deshita: “Thanks for your hard work”)
You say this in reply to 失礼します (“please excuse me for leaving”) as a thank you for their hard work that day, but it can be used in many other situations
Related Post:
20 Basic Japanese greetings
Japanese Greetings for Everyday Life
