Language/Japanese/Vocabulary/Greetings

TO SAY HELLO AND INDICATE THE MOMENT OF THE DAY

Japanese cut the day in three parts and each has a manner to say.

おはようございます

御早うございます。

Ohayougozaimasu

This expression is made by

御 (お)	o	honorific prefix
早 (早(く))	haya(ku)	early
ございます	gozaimasu	polite suffix

The change of 早く is a ウ音便 ("u" sound shift).

This is used the morning, to say hello, from 5 A.M to 12 A.M

Then, from 12 A.M use :

• こんにちは (konnichiwa) : commonly written with hiragana. The form in kanji 今日は is more employed to say “today ...”, and pronounced as “きょうは”.

At night, from about 6 PM you can say :

• こんばんは (konbanwa)

As for こんばんは, there is a form in kanji 今晩は for “tonight ...”, but contrary to こんにちは, it reads こんばんは. Take a look to the kanji.

• 今 : This kanji read alone is いま (ima). It means “now".

• 日 : This one is にち (nichi). The meaning of this is “day”
• 晩 : The last is ばん (ban). The kanji for “evening/night”.

• お休みなさい おやすみなさい oyasuminasai: Have a good night.

お honorific prefix

• 休み やすみ : holiday / resting
• 為さい なさい : a verbal form of saying "to do"

• おひさしぶり お久し振り ohisashiburi: Long time no see.

• 久さしい ひさしい hisashii: indicate a long period of time.
• 振り ぶり buri is a time mark.

In fact, this expression is really turning around a time reference!!

GREETING WITHOUT TIME INFLUENCE

• さよなら sayonara: Simply means bye.
• バイバイ Bai-Bai Bye-Bye: The english-like form.
• またね matane: mata means « again », ne is a particle to sustain your idea. So, we can say it is : See you again.

When you welcome someone who is not from the place you are, you should use

• ようこそ youkoso.: It means WELCOME! For example if your friends is coming from another country to yours (Japanese friend to France)

• フランスへようこそ。furansu e yokoso.

へ reads “e” as location particle.

GREETING TO WISH SOMETHING TO SOMEONE

• 宜しくお願いします よろしくおねがいします yoroshiku onegaishimasu。: Pleased to meet you.

• 宜しく よろしく yoroshiku : Best regards
• お願い おねがい onegai: A useful sentence to express a wish
• します shimasu: Polite and affirmative form of the verb
• する suru: TO DO, commonly used.

• ヤッホー Yahoo/オオイ Ooi: HEY! Particularly employed by teenagers.

• 元気ですか げんきですか Genki desu ka : How are you doing?

• 元 げん gen: origin
• 気 き ki: spirit
• です desu: (to be)
• か ka: particle for question.

• 頑張って がんばって ganbatte : It is a greeting to give some force, some courage to someone. The way to persevere.

• 頑 がん gan approximately means to extend
• 張 ば ba could be translate as hustle
• って tte : This is a kind of imperative form.

It comes from the verb 頑張る がんばる ganbaru.

• おめでとう(ございます) Omedetou(gozaimasu): Congratulations!
• ありとう(ございます) Arigatou(gozaimasu): Thank you(very much)

In Japan, we use some expressions that have no equal in french and probably not in any other else language in the world.

• お疲れ様 おつかれさま otsukaresama: It is employed when people ends a hard working day. It means something like : thank you for doing your best at work.

• 疲れる つかれる tsukareru: the verb to express the sensation of tiredness.

• 様 さま sama: An honorific suffix

The Japanese really like using prefixes and suffixes according to the social status, the age and the gender.

• 只今 ただいま tadaima Litt. “I’m home”. You will use this one, when you open the door and there is someone inside.
• お帰りなさいおかえり(なさい) okaeri(nasai) This one works with the previous. The people inside will answer Okaeri to Tadaima.
• 帰 is the kanji of the verb 帰る かえる kaeru which indicated that you are coming back.
• 行ってらっしゃい いってらっしゃい itterasshai: "Have a good day", particulary when you are going to move (for example to work) and somebody support you.
• 行って いって itte is the imperative form of the verb 行く いく iku: TO GO
• らっしゃい rasshai : Is a mark of moving comes from honorific language.

• 気を付けて きをつけて Ki o tsukete: Take care of you (When you are going somewhere). This includes that you have to move
• 付ける つける Tsukeru in its て form which really includes the notion of concern/care by the people who say it.

So, if you are going to work and your wife / husband is going staying at home, he/she can say :

• 行ってらっしゃい、気を付けて。お仕事頑張って下さい。 Itterasshai, ki wo tsukete. Oshigoto ganbatte kudasai.

TWO MORE WORDS

Gozaimasu and Kudasai. As you can read before some words or sentence use gozaimasu. Like : Ohayougozaimasu, arigatougozaimasu, omedetougowazaimasu. Gozaimasu simply means ;”There is” when it’s combined with a greeting. You can also consider it means “to exist”. For example “ARIGATOUGOZAIMASU” ; “it exist some thanks”. It is not very correct translation but it is the idea.

Some other are built with kudasai. Kudasai is a form of the verb kudasaru which means “to confer”

Authors

BriceJ

</translate>