Ever heard of the Japanese word Konnichiwa? It is usually translated as Good Afternoon and also Hi and Hello, but why such a word usually used in the afternoon also means hi? In this article we will see the secrets behind the word Konnichiwa.
In this article, we will also talk a little about Ohayougozaimasu, it is important for us to understand the meaning of this word to understand why Konnichiwa is translated as good afternoon.
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Konnichiwa Means Talking about the Day
Although Konnichiwa [今日は] is generally used as a good afternoon or hello, the composed ideograms in the word and its origin have nothing to do with hi or afternoon.
Konnichiwa is actually the abbreviation of a full saldation in which you ask about how the person's day is going. Over time this complete sentence ended up becoming just konnichiwa.
今日は如何ですか Konnichi wa ikaga desu ka How is the day?
Although the phrase contains ideograms, the expression konnichiwa is usually written entirely in hiragana. Note that the [は] is actually the particle [は] which is pronounced wa.
Basically Konnichiwa [こんにちは] is the word day along with the particle wa that highlights the topic of conversation and continuity with the subject. It's like saying: Talking about [は] the day [今日]:
We recommend watching our video below talking about it:
Why does Konnichiwa mean Good Afternoon?
It's not that Konnichiwa means good afternoon, as the word refers to the whole day, but because ohayou is used in the morning, Konnichiwa turned out to be a word to be used in the afternoon.
In fact, both ohayou and konnichiwa do not refer to any period of the day, only konbanwa [今晩は] refers to the period of night, but it is an abbreviation as konnichiwa. See below:
今晩はご機嫌いかがですか？ Konbanwa gokigen ikaga desu ka How are you tonight?
The ohayou, on the other hand, causes the idea that the person arrived early or fast, at no time does the word refer to the morning period, but its frequency of use ended up being at that time, carrying the meaning.
Konnichiwa is usually used between 10 AM and 5 PM, while ohayou was originally used during the night/early morning and originated in kabuki theaters.
Konnichiwa is Hello in Japanese
I hope this article helped you understand why konnichiwa is translated as hello by most dictionaries. It doesn't refer to any time of day, so don't be afraid to use it in some online chat.
Of course, you won't stop using Ohayou and Konbanwa to use Konnichiwa in an uncoordinated way, but if that happens, you don't have to worry that no one will find it strange.
Even because, regardless of whether it's morning or night, the day isn't over yet. So, how's your day going?