In this article, we will learn some greetings, salutations, and farewells in Japanese. Knowing this will help you expand your beginner vocabulary in the language and start conversations with Japanese people. There are thousands of different ways to say hello in Japanese, good morning, good afternoon, and good night.
Japan is a country with a millennia-old culture and divided into many provinces, which contributed to the diversity of dialects and words in the country; its writing has origins in Chinese ideograms, resulting in various readings of a single ideogram. Not to mention the very formal language known as keigo. Pay attention to the words we will mention in the table below:
Besides the article, we also recommend watching our video below:
Aisatsu – Greetings and salutations in Japanese
| JAPANESE | ROMAJI | PORTUGUESE |
|---|---|---|
| 挨拶 | Aisatsu | Greetings |
| お早うございます。 | Ohayou Gozaimasu | Good morning. |
| 今日は／こんにちは。 | Konnichi wa | Good afternoon. |
| こんばんは/今晩は | Konban wa | Good night |
| お休みなさい | Oyasumi nasai | Good night – farewell |
| ようこそ。 | Youkoso | Welcome. |
| どうも。 | Doumo | Thank you (Can be used as slang for “Thanks”) / a hello (Can be used as a greeting depending on the situation). |
| じゃね。/ またね | Jya ne / Mata ne | Bye / See you later. |
| いらっしゃいませ。 | Irasshaimase! | Welcome. (Formal) |
| ごめん下さい。 | Gomen Kudasai | May I come in? |
| 宜しくお願いします | Yoroshiku onegaishimasu | Can be translated as “Please,” “Nice to meet you,” “I count on you,” “I leave this in your hands” (when asking for a favor). |
| おかえりなさい/お帰りなさい | Okaeri Nasai | Welcome back (home) |
| さようなら。 | Sayounara | Goodbye. |
| さらば | Saraba | An older goodbye used by samurais. |
| 行ってきます。 | Ittekimasu | I’m leaving. |
| 行ってらっしゃい。 | Itterashai | Go safely./ Have a good trip. |
| 気をつけて | ki wo tsukete | Take care, a form of farewell. |
Curiosities about greetings
- Gomen Kudasai literally means: excuse me please. However, it is usually used when entering a place, as a kind of permission;
- In Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu, you can use Douzo before, to be more formal/polite. This expression is also used when there is an interaction with another person, and the person can respond the same or こちらこそ (kochira koso).
- Irasshaimase is used more in stores or commerce, to greet/welcome customers;
- Ittekimasu and Itterashai are used inside the house when someone leaves or returns, it’s like saying: I’m leaving, and the person in the house responds: Go safely / Have a good trip, take care, come back soon… and it’s just a simple response of interaction between the people in the house;
- Many of the greetings can be abbreviated; when speaking informally, you can simply say: Ohayou, Oyasumi, Yoroshiku.
- These are some of the main greetings and farewells used in daily life in Japan;
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