How To Say “Hello” in Japanese (Go Past Konnichiwa!)

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Hello! Hey! What’s up? Relying on who we’re speaking to, we might select to greet them with a phrase apart from “whats up.” Amongst pals, utilizing “whats up” as a greeting can appear formal, however saying “What’s up?” to your boss’s boss can come off as too acquainted. The identical is true for Japanese! Konnichiwa (こんにちは) is the way you say “whats up,” however how do you say “hello” in Japanese? 

Broaden your Japanese phrases for greeting folks with these 9 alternative ways to say “whats up” in Japanese. It’s true that konnichiwa is used and it’s actually vital. Once you be taught Japanese with Rosetta Stone, you’ll see it in your very first lesson. However let’s transcend konnichiwa and see what different choices you need to use.

Say whats up in Japanese like a local speaker

Studying how one can communicate and act politely is vital when choosing up a brand new language. Oftentimes, this goes hand-in-hand with studying greetings. For Japanese greetings, this implies konnichiwa will in all probability be the primary phrase launched for “whats up.” 

Nevertheless, you usually tend to hear a greater variety of greetings. The Japanese language has three essential ranges of ritual: informal, formal, and honorific. All three use barely totally different verb conjugations and have nuanced layers of social cues, like how deep to bow, figuring out who “instructions” extra respect (like a boss), or whether or not all notions of ritual might be put aside. 

The primary impression you make—the way you greet the opposite individual—can dictate how the dialog flows, so it’s vital to contemplate which phrase to make use of to say hello.

Record of how to say “hello” in Japanese

Selecting which phrase to make use of to greet pals, coworkers, or acquaintances in Japanese requires figuring out the social context. Listed below are 9 totally different choices so that you can use!

1. Konnichiwa! (こんにちは！) 

Use: Normal solution to say “whats up”

The normal “konnichiwa” is a impartial solution to say “whats up” or “good afternoon.” It may be used to greet coworkers, lecturers, pals, household…just about anybody! Nevertheless, there are a lot of different situational greetings which may be used as an alternative of a easy “whats up,” making konnichiwa much less widespread than one would suppose. 

When written with kanji (漢字, Chinese language characters), konnichiwa (今日は) actually interprets to “as for at the moment.” Which means it’s most applicable to make use of it throughout the day—ideally the afternoon. For the morning and night, it’s higher to make use of another solution to say “whats up” or a greeting particular to the time of day, resembling “good morning.”

If “konnichiwa” has kanji, must you use them? When selecting how one can write “hello” in Japanese, you will have three writing programs to select from. Typically talking, the Japanese alphabets are used: Hiragana (平仮名) is used for many greetings and katakana (片仮名) for greetings which have international language origins. Kanji is barely utilized in extra formal conditions.

2. Yā! (やあ！)

Use: Informal settings with pals or household

Yā is an informal solution to say “hello” in Japanese. It’s typically used to greet pals. 

Sometimes, it’s well mannered in Japanese to confer with folks you don’t know nicely with their surname quite than their given title mixed with an honorific connected to indicate respect. When utilizing yā, it’s assumed that the state of affairs is informal and that the folks concerned are shut and might forgo formalities. 

If the title of the individual being greeted is “Keiko Takeda,” you possibly can greet her in these methods:

• Yā, keiko chan!（やあ、恵子ちゃん！）= Hello, Keiko!
• Konnichiwa, takeda san!（こんにちは、武田さん！）= Hey, Ms. Takeda!

3. Yо̄! (よお！)

Use: Informal settings with pals or household

Yо̄ may be very near yā, with an inclination towards “hey” quite than “hello.” Each can be utilized by anybody, however yо̄ leans barely towards the masculine and yā to the female. Whichever you select to make use of, each are informal and must be used amongst pals or different folks you’re near.

4. Osu! (おす！)

Use: Informal settings with pals (primarily utilized by males) and martial arts

Osu is on the rougher, extra masculine facet. Normally, you hear it utilized by boys and males greeting one another in informal settings. Its origins come from martial arts and the previous Japanese navy. The Japanese phrase for “good morning” is “ohayо̄ gozaimasu,” and this phrase was drastically shortened to create “osu”:

• ohayо̄ gozaimasu (おはようございます）→ ohayо̄ssu（おはよーっす）→ osu（おす）

When written with kanji, osu (押忍) makes use of the characters for “push” (押) and “endurance” (忍). Notably when utilized in a martial arts context, this takes the established greeting to a brand new degree. “Osu” not simply means “whats up” but in addition expresses a resolve to “push by way of and endure.”

5. Yahhо̄! (ヤッホー！)

Use: Informal settings with pals (primarily utilized by ladies)

Yahhо̄ is a cute solution to say whats up in Japanese that tends to be linguistically female. There are a number of theories about its origins. Whereas it does sound just like the greeting “yoo-hoo!” in English, the predominant principle is that it comes from the German phrase johoo, which is traditionally utilized by mountaineers to sign their location. Right this moment, juhu is utilized in German to say “yay!” or—tellingly—“yoo-hoo!”

6. Saikin dо̄? (最近どう？)

Use: Informal solution to encourage dialog often following one other phrase for “whats up”

Saying whats up to a pal doesn’t all the time cease at “hello.” You may instantly roll into the dialog as a part of the greeting! “Saikin dо̄?” is a shortened model of “Saikin wa dо̄ desu ka?” The message is similar, however the latter is extra formal and is nearer to asking, “How have you ever been doing these days?”

• Yā, yuki! Saikin dо̄?（やあ、ゆき！最近どう？) = Hey, Yuki! How’re issues?
• Konnichiwa, yamada san! Saikin wa dо̄ desu ka?（こんにちは、山田さん！最近はどうですか？）= Hey, Ms. Yamada! How have you ever been?

7. Dо̄mo! (どうも！)

Use: Formal, primarily used towards superiors at work

Dо̄mo is a step above konnichiwa in formality and is primarily utilized in skilled environments. It’s not unusual for a relationship between an worker and their superior (resembling their boss) to be linguistically totally different in formality. If you happen to have been the worker, you’d be anticipated to be extra respectful towards your boss, whereas your superior is allowed to make use of extra informal language. An interplay within the morning may seem like this, with the boss talking first:

•  Ohayо̄, yamamoto kun!（おはよう、山本君！）= ‘Morning, Yamamoto!
• A, ueno buchо̄! Dо̄mo.（あ、上野部長！どうも。）= Oh, Mr. Ueno! Hey.

It’s vital to notice that dо̄mo additionally has different makes use of. Relying on the context, it may be “thanks” (often because the longer dо̄mo arigatо̄ or dо̄mo arigatо̄ gozaimasu) or the adverb “fairly.”

8. Harо̄! (ハロー！)

Use: Informal settings with pals

Pronounced extra equally to the German “hallo” than the English “whats up,” harо̄ is an informal possibility. Harо̄ has a light-hearted nuance in the identical means that native English audio system have when utilizing different languages to say whats up for enjoyable. Have you ever ever heard somebody who solely speaks English greet pals with “Hola!” in Spanish or “Bonjour!” in French? It’s the identical phenomenon! As people, we share an appreciation for greeting others, regardless of what totally different languages we are saying whats up in.

9. Moshi moshi? (もしもし？)

Use: Commonplace solution to say “whats up” when answering the cellphone

When answering the cellphone, moshi moshi is the usual solution to say “whats up” in comparison with some other choices. It comes from the phrase mо̄su (申す), which is a extremely formal solution to say “communicate.” In a means, moshi moshi is akin to saying, “That is [name] talking,” prompting the caller to introduce themselves and relay their message. 

It can be utilized in informal conditions the place somebody seems to be distracted. If somebody is spacing out, you possibly can metaphorically give them a name in the identical means you do on the cellphone:

• Moshi moshi, kikoemasu ka? (もしもし、聞こえますか？）= Hey, are you able to hear me?  

Studying greetings and extra with Rosetta Stone

Studying about greetings on paper is one factor: Placing them into observe is one other! With Rosetta Stone Tutoring, you possibly can have conversations with skilled native audio system and your fellow Japanese language learners. Greet them with a well mannered konnichiwa or check out extra informal choices to say “hello” within the Japanese language.