Japanese Greetings for Every Situation
Updated June 29, 2026
The most common Japanese greetings are おはよう (ohayou) for good morning, こんにちは (konnichiwa) for hello, and こんばんは (konbanwa) for good evening, and which you use depends on the time of day and how polite you are being. You will hear all of them in the opening minutes of almost any Japanese show.
| Japanese | English |
|---|---|
| おはよう | good morning (casual)ohayou |
| おはようございます | good morning (polite)ohayou gozaimasu |
| こんにちは | hello, good afternoonkonnichiwa |
| こんばんは | good eveningkonbanwa |
| さようなら | goodbyesayounara |
| またね | see you latermata ne |
| おやすみなさい | good nightoyasuminasai |
| はじめまして | nice to meet youhajimemashite |
| お久しぶり | long time no seeohisashiburi |
| ただいま | I'm hometadaima |
Want these to stick? Hear them in real context: LingoBinge surfaces words like these while you watch Japanese shows on Netflix, and saves them for spaced review.
Hear them in: Old Enough!, Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say hello in Japanese?
- The standard hello is こんにちは (konnichiwa), used roughly from late morning to evening. In the morning you say おはよう (ohayou), and at night こんばんは (konbanwa).
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