Japanese Greetings: Hello, Good Morning and the Phrases You’ll Use Every Day
The Japanese greetings you will use most are おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu, good morning), こんにちは (konnichiwa, hello), こんばんは (konbanwa, good evening) and はじめまして (hajimemashite, nice to meet you). Beyond those, Japanese has set phrases for everyday moments, such as leaving home, coming back, starting a meal and finishing work, that are used far more often than “hello”. Using them, with a small bow, makes a big difference to how warmly people respond. Here are the essentials, with when to use each.
Greetings by time of day
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning and use |
|---|---|---|
| おはようございます | ohayō gozaimasu | Good morning. Polite. With friends and family, just おはよう. At many workplaces it’s used for the first greeting of a shift, whatever the time. |
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | Hello, good afternoon. Used with people outside your family and workplace; colleagues rarely say it to each other. |
| こんばんは | konbanwa | Good evening. |
| おやすみなさい | oyasumi nasai | Good night, when going to bed or parting late at night. |
Meeting someone new
- はじめまして。〇〇です。よろしくお願いします。 Nice to meet you. I’m ○○. (Literally “please treat me well”.)
- こちらこそ、よろしくお願いします。 Likewise, nice to meet you.
よろしくお願いします is one of the most useful phrases in Japanese. You’ll hear it at introductions, at the end of requests and at the start of working together. For a full self-introduction, see how to introduce yourself in Japanese.
Everyday set phrases
| Japanese | Reading | When |
|---|---|---|
| いってきます | ittekimasu | Leaving home (“I’ll go and come back”) |
| いってらっしゃい | itterasshai | Reply to someone leaving (“see you later”) |
| ただいま | tadaima | Arriving home (“I’m back”) |
| おかえりなさい | okaeri nasai | Reply to someone coming home (“welcome back”) |
| いただきます | itadakimasu | Before eating |
| ごちそうさまでした | gochisōsama deshita | After eating, also to thank whoever cooked or paid |
| お疲れさまです | otsukaresama desu | At work: greeting colleagues, and at the end of the day |
| お先に失礼します | osaki ni shitsurei shimasu | Leaving work before others |
If you’re staying with a host family or visiting your partner’s family, these phrases matter more than almost anything else you can learn. See Japanese for a homestay.
Saying goodbye
- さようなら (sayōnara) sounds final, like “farewell”. Children say it to teachers, but adults use it less than textbooks suggest.
- じゃあ、また (jā, mata) or またね (mata ne) is “see you” with friends.
- 失礼します (shitsurei shimasu) is the polite way to leave a room, an office or a phone call.
- お気をつけて (oki o tsukete), “take care”, is kind to say to someone setting off on a journey.
Bowing
Greetings usually come with a bow. As a visitor, a small nod or a slight bow from the waist is fine; nobody expects perfect technique. Deeper, longer bows show more respect or a stronger apology. In business, you can bow and then shake hands if the other person offers. See business etiquette when meeting Japanese clients for more.
Practise until they’re automatic
Greetings are easy to learn and easy to forget in the moment. A few short lessons with a native tutor, practising real situations like arriving at a ryokan or meeting a colleague, make them automatic. For the phrases that go with them, see how to say thank you and sorry in Japanese.