Japanese Greetings Basic Japanese Greetings

On this page you will find all of the basic Japanese Greetings that you need to know when you learning Japanese. Of course just reading the words won't actually help you to speak and pronounce the language correctly, so we've also included audio so that you can also hear the words. Scroll down and click on 'Play' and the back and forward arrows to select the word you would like to hear.




Japanese Pronunciation English
Nihongo   English
good morning Ohayoo gozaimasu Good Morning.
Good afternoon Konnichi wa. Good afternoon. [Good day][Hello]
Good evening Konban wa. Good evening
Good night Oyasumi nasai. Good night (said just before going to bed).
How are you Ogenki desu ka? How are you? [Are you in good spirits?]
good spirits Genki Well [ good spirits]
I am very well Genki desu I am very well.
Thank you Arigatoo gozaimasu. Thank you
Thank you - due to kind thought Okagesama de. Thank you. [Due to your kind thought, am well]
What is your name Onamae wa nan to osshaimasu ka? What is your name?
What is your name Onamae wa? What is your name?
My name is Yamada Masao Yamada Masao to mooshimasu. My name is Yamada Masao.
I am Yamada Yamada desu. I am Yamada.
My name is Yamada Watakushi no namae wa Yamada desu. My name is Yamada.
Excuse me. I'm sorry Gomen nasai Excuse me. I'm sorry.
japanese That's all right Ii desu. That's all right
Good bye Sayounara Good bye. / See you later.
You're welcome Do-itashi-mashite You're welcome.
I'm sorry Sumimasen I'm sorry. / Excuse me. / Thank you.
I'm terribly sorry Gomen-nasai I'm terribly sorry.
How are you Ogenki-desu-ka? How are you?
What's the matter Do-shimashita-ka? What's the matter?
Take good care of yourself Odaijini Take good care of yourself.

 

Now let's study some of the greetings you'll use right from the start. The words in brackets are literal translation.

The suffix  -san is used in Japanese as a term of respect meaning "Mr.","Mrs","Miss","Sir","or "Madam"
Japanese people use their last names before their first names; therefore, Yamada is the last name of the person speaking. When giving their names in English, however, Japanese people usually adopt the Western order. For a Western name, even while speaking Japanese, the Western order is also usually used.

 

Yukkuri Slowly
Yukkuri hanashite kudasai Please speak slowly.
Douzo Please
Douzo yukkuri hanashite kudasai Please speak slowly
Moo ichido Once more
Itte Kudasai. Please say [it]
Moo ichido itte kudasai Please repeat that. [Say it once more, please.]
Douzo moo ichido itte kudasai. Please repeat that. [Please say it once more.]
Doumo Very much [indeed!]
Doumo arigatou gozaimasu. Thank you very much.
Dou itashimashite. Not at all.
Arigatoo gozaimashita. Thank you (for what you have done)
Kochira koso. It was a pleasure. [It was my side (that should have thanked).]
Dewa ashita. Till tomorrow. See you tomorrow. [Well, then, tomorrow.]
Dewa Doyoobi ni. Till Saturday. See you Saturday. [Well, then, on Saturday.]
Dewa Getsuyoobi ni. Till Monday. See you Monday.
Dewa Mokuyoobi ni. Till Thursday. See you Thursday.
Dewa konban. Till this evening. See you this evening.
Dewa ashita no ban. Till tomorrow evening. See you tomorrow evening.
Dewa raishuu. Till next week. See you next week.
Dewa mata. See you later.[Well, then, again.]
Dewa sono uchi ni. See you sometime.
Sayounara. Good-bye.


  • Ivy - July 18, 2008, 4:25 am
    Why は is used in the "konnichi wa" instead of わ ?
  • martha - July 18, 2008, 4:45 am
    hello,
    "は" is used when referring to a subject but it pronounce as "wa".
  • j - August 21, 2008, 11:13 am
    Konnichiwa, is properly spelled in Japanese using the は and not わ.
  • トラビス - December 3, 2008, 2:00 am
    Several of the "particles" in hiragana are not their phonetic match.
    Example: as a particle (connector), the pronounced 'wa' is written は(ha).
    the pronounced 'O' is written ’を’ (wo).
    the pronounced 'e' is written ’へ’ (he).

    you'll pick this up as you write more statements. good luck!
  • Megumi - February 9, 2009, 9:54 pm
    yes, why Why は is used in the "konnichi wa" instead of わ ?
  • ~~~~ - February 12, 2009, 10:46 pm
    mata ne is aslo a good way to say see you later, and sayonara is usally long term :D
  • Michael - March 1, 2009, 10:48 am
    If those are the pronunciations then many are wrong. The u in su is silent in a great number of those words. The pronunciation of desu would not be desu, it would be des. Thus ogenki deska, not desuka.
  • Ikari - March 8, 2009, 1:45 pm
    Why do you have "Gomen Nasai" spelt ごまんなさい
    and "Gomen-nasai" spelt ごめんなさい?
  • Nikki0417 - May 8, 2009, 1:44 am
    this is to answer megumi's question: in sentences and some words, は is used instead of わ, but it still gets the "wa" pronounciation.
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