Do you know the word omedetou? Would you like to know its real meaning? In this article, we are going to learn some interesting information about the famous Japanese word omedeto (おめでとう) which primarily means congratulations.
Let's also see some curiosities, some synonyms and alternative words that you can use to congratulate someone. The perfect word to say happy birthday, congratulations on your marriage and many other phrases.
What does omedetou mean in Japanese?
The word Omedetou (お目出度う) literally means congratulations on some good occasion such as a birthday, wedding or some promotion. The word is made up of the adjective medetai (目出度い) meaning happy, auspicious, joyful and propitious.
The word is composed of the ideograms eye [目] come out [出] and occurrence [度]. This word is usually accompanied by the famous expression gozaimasu (ございます) which makes the expression a little more formal.
Ironically the adjective medetai can also mean naive, innocent, foolish, good-natured. There are Japanese sweets that are also called omedeto (御目出糖) and are made from glutinous rice and adzuki beans.
Other weird ways of writing medetai that are no longer used are [芽出度い] and [愛でたい]. Nowadays the word is written more in hiragana when it is an expression of congratulations (omedetou) and sometimes with kanji if it is used as an adjective.
How to use the word Congratulations in Japanese
Below we share some example sentences that can help you understand the use of the word omedetou:
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Portuguese | Japanese | Romaji |
| Happy New Year | 明けましておめでとう | Akemashite omedetou |
| Happy Birthday | 誕生日おめでとう | tanjoubi omedetou |
| Congratulations on your engagement | ご婚約おめでとうございます | Go kon'yaku omedetōgozaimasu |
| I wish you a Merry Christmas | クリスマスおめでとう | kurisumasu omedetou |
| Congratulations for the victory | 優勝おめでとう。 | Yūshō omedetō |
| Happy Halloween | ハローウィンおめでとう。 | Harou~in omedetō. |
Synonyms and alternatives to omedetou
Before starting I want to briefly quote the verb moushiageru (申し上げる) which means to express, declare or extend and is usually used after some words that we will study below.
Responsive Table: Scroll the table to the side with your finger >>
| Portuguese | Japanese | Romaji |
| And everyone lived happily ever after | 目出度し目出度し | medetashimedetashi |
| Congratulations, Celebration, Festival | お祝い(申し上げる) | hiwai (moushiageru) |
| Congratulations (Kansai Dialect) | おめでとうさん | omedetousan |
| express pleasure, happiness | お喜び(申し上げる) | oyorokobi (moushiageru) |
| Congratulations, best wishes, long life | 寿 | kotobuki |
| celebration, congratulations | 祝賀 | shukuga |
| Congratulation | 慶賀 | keiga |
| From English congratulation | コングラチュレーション | kongurachurēshon |
| Congratulations, condolences | 慶弔 | keichuu |
| Express Excitement! | やった! | yatta! |
Phrases using the word omedetou
Below we will see some phrases teaching how to say happy birthday, happy new year and other similar phrases in Japanese.
お誕生日おめでとうございます。 O-tanjoubi omedetou gozaimasu. Happy Birthday (formal)
ご結婚おめでとうございます。 Go-kekkon omedetou gozaimasu. (formal) Congratulations on the wedding!
優勝おめでとう。 Yuushou omedetou. Congratulations for the victory!
明けましておめでとう。 Akemashite omedetou Happy New Year!
彼らは先輩に昇進おめでとうと言った。 Karera wa senpai ni shoushin omedetou to itta They congratulated the veterans on their promotion.
感謝祭おめでとう。 kanshasai omedetou Congratulations on the day of thanksgiving
ハローウィンおめでとう。 Harou~in omedetou Happy Halloween
バレンタインデーおめでとう。 Barentaindē omedetō Congratulations on Valentine's Day
