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.

Ohayougozaimasu

おはようございます

御早うございます。

This expression is made by

御	(お) O	honorific prefixe
早 (早(く))	haya(ku)	early
ございます	Gozaimasu	polite suffix

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

Then, from 12 A.M use :

• Konnichiwa (こんにちは) : commonly written with hiragana, the basic alphabet to write japanese words. The form in kanji (今日は) is more employed to say approximately "This day..." and it sounds ; KYOU WA (

At night, from about 6 PM (japanese have dinner really early) you can say :

• Konbanwa (こんばんは)

As for konnichiwa, there is a form in kanji (今晩は). "This night..."but contrary to Konnichiwa, it really sounds konbanwa.Take a look to the kanjis

• 今 : This kanji read alone is IMA いま. It means NOW.

• 日 : This one is NICHIにち. The meaning of this is DAY
• 晩 : The last is BANばん. The kanji for EVENING / NIGHT

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

お valorating prefix

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

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

• Hisashi(i) (久さし(い)) ひさしい : indicate a long period of time.
• Buri(振り)ぶり is a time mark.

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

GREETING WITHOUT TIME INFLUENCE

• Sayonara (さよなら) : Simply means bye.
• Bai-Bai : Bye-Bye (バイバイ): The english-like form.
• Matane (またね): 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

• Youkosoようこそ.: 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 he yokoso.

へ (he) is the location particle.

GREETING TO WISH SOMETHING TO SOMEONE

• Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (よろしくおねがいします) 宜しくお願いします。: Please to meet you

• 宜しく (よろしく)YORO SHIKU : Best regards
• お(お)O 願い(ねが(い)NEGA( I): A useful sentence to express a wish
• します(します)SHIMASU : Polite and affirmative form of the verb
• する SURU  : TO DO, commonly used.

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

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

• GEN(元) げん: origin
• KI(気) き: spirit
• DESU/です: (to be)
• KA / か: particle for question.

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

• GAN(頑) がん approximately means to extend
• BA(張) ば could be translate as hustle
• TTEって : This is a kind of imperative form.

It comes from the verb : ganbaru (頑張る)がんばる

• Omedetou(gozaimasu) (おめでとう(ございます)): Congratulations!
• Arigatou(gozaimasu) (ありとう(ございます)): 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.

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

• Tsukare(ru) (疲れ(る))つかれ(る): the verb to express the sensation of tiredness.

• Sama (様)さま: A very honorific suffix

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

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

• Ki o tsukete (気を付けて)きをつけて: Take care of you (When you are going somewhere). This includes that you have to move
• Tsukeru(付け(る))つける in its TE(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 :

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

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

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