あいさつ – Greetings in Japanese

Welcome to busy Japanese beginners. You are going to commit only 10 minutes a day for the next 30 days to learn Japanese with me. Everyone can have a spare time of 10 minutes/day. Promise me to continue till the end. Then I’ll promise you that you will learn a lot more with the other methods. that you have been struggling with.

Day one you will learn greetings in Japanese. Good luck!

おはようo ha yo o

おoはhaよyoうo is the greeting in the morning. When you wake up, you greet your family members with this expression. (a casual form)

example 1

When you arrive at school / work, you greet with your senior colleagues with this expression. (a formal / polite form)

example 2

“ごgoざzaいIまmaすsu” makes “おはようo ha yo o” more formal and polite.

We don’t use these expressions when you enter a restaurant, shop or hotel. A waitress, shop clark or a receptionist greets you with a special expression such as  “いらっしゃいませi ra ssha i ma se (welcome to …)”. Then you say “すみませんsu mi ma se n (sorry to bother you)” and you jump into the point if you have something to ask for. Otherwise, you just bow a little, which is enough.

こんにちはko n ni chi wa

“こkoんnにniちchiはwa” is the greeting in the daytime. Once the outside is dark, you do not use this expression anymore.

When you meet your friends, colleagues etc. you can greet them with this expression. (a casual and formal form)
example 1

• You don’t usually use this expression with your family members.
• You don’t usually say this to a waiter and a waitress when you enter a restaurant.
• This is not quite the same as “Hello” in English. So you don’t use this expression on the phone. You say another word “もmoしshiもmoし”shi.

こんばんはko n ba n wa

“こkoんnばbaんnはwa” is the greeting when it’s dark outside. The summer in Europe is tricky. You might wonder what to say at 9pm in the summer time, because it is not dark in Europe. You can use this expression at 7pm onwards.

When you meet your friends, colleagues etc. you can use this expression to them. (a casual and formal form)

example 1

• You don’t usually use this expression with your family members.
• You don’t usually say this to a waiter and a waitress when you enter a restaurant .

When you go to school or work etc.

When you go to school or work, you say to your family “いってきますi the ki ma su“. This means “I am going now.” Your family say to you “いってらっしゃい i the ra ssha i“. This means literally “You may go.” but it meant “Have a lovely day.”

example 1

When you come back from school or work etc.

When you come back from school or work, you say to your family “ただいまta da i ma“. This means “I’m home.” Your family reply to you “おかえりo ka e ri“. This means “Welcome home.”

example 1

In this way we do not need to say “Hello / Good evening” to your family.

 I want to say “Have a nice day”.

We do not say that in Japanese. We would rather say “Enjoy” “Good luck” “Take care” etc.

Enjoy is “たのしんでねta no shi n de ne“.

Good luck is がんばってねga n ba tte ne.

Take care is きをつけてねki o tsu ke te ne.

example 1

 

example 2

 

example 3

 

 

Test

Which one is correct?

1. When you wake up and greet your family members :　こんばんは　or 　おはよう
2. When you enter a shop, a shop clark says to you :　こんにちは　or　いらっしゃいませ
3. When you go to a restaurant, you say to a waitress :　こんにちは　or　すみません
4. When you come home, you say to your family members :　ただいま　or　こんばんは
5. When you see your friends in the daytime, you say to your friend :　こんにちは　or　こんばんは
6. When you enter a hotel, you say to your receptionist :　いらっしゃいませ　or　すみません
7. When you leave home, you say to your family members :　いってきます　or　ただいま
8. When your friend has a test, you say to him :　いってらっしゃい　or　がんばってね
9. When your mother travels, you say to her :　おはよう　or　きをつけてね
10. When your friend has a Japanese lesson, you say to her :　たのしんでね　or　すみません

answers

おはよう、いらっしゃいませ、すみません、ただいま、こんにちは、すみません、いってきます、がんばってね、きをつけてね、たのしんでね