Like any language, Japanese starts with greetings, which is the most important step in the learning process. Unlike other languages, the Japanese language centers on culture, social aspects, and etiquette. If you’re planning on traveling, working, and or making friends with people from Japan, learning these specific phrases is essential in making a good impression.
Every language has its own specific phrases which are essential in communicating with people. Japanese is not any different, the language has its own distinct greetings which are important for different times of the day.
In the context of greetings, a safe placeholder from late morning to late evening is simply こんにちは (konnichiwa). Alongside the phrases to support your midday greetings, it is good to note that the morning Ohayou (おはよう) and evening “good” remarks also have stipulated phrases, both of which also adhere to a set of rules. Morning salutations would be: “Good morning” and the polite version “Good morning to you, Ohayou gozaimasu” (おはようございます). Ohayou gozaimasu is a polite way of showing respect; adding gozaimasu raises the status of a phrase and is common in Japanese code that aids to support the respect culture. For the evening during formal circumstances, you would say “Good evening” in Japanese, which translates to こんばんは (konbanwa).
Specific situations have context, and beyond the greetings listed, when it comes to exiting the house, a Japanese phrase that captures the meaning is 行ってきます (ittekimasu) meaning “I am departing and will be back.” The same way a spouse would respond to another spouse when waiting is, いってらっしゃい (itterasshai) “Go and come back safely.” The phrase would change as you further personalize the remark and your undertone shifts to familiar. If you return from a house, the formal phrase you will say to announce your arrival is ただいま (tadaima) and you will be greeted in response by おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) or “welcome home” “おかえり (Okaeri).
“How have you been” is fundamental in a conversation. Responding in Japanese, you can respond by saying, お元気ですか (O-genki desu ka) and it is polite to assume her response will be equally polite.
The common response is はい、元気です (Hai, genki desu), which translates to “Yes, I am fine.”
It is also critical to remember specific phrases for particular interactions. For the first introduction, one would use はじめまして (Hajimemashite) which translates to “Nice to meet you.” On leaving, one would say さようなら (Sayounara) but in contemporary Japanese, expressions like またね (Mata ne) which translates to “See you later,” are more common for casual goodbyes.
Last but not the least, note that the greetings are also accompanied with the bow, which is non-verbal. The slight bow is a way of showing respect and is an integral aspect of Japanese culture. The degree of the bow depends on how much respect is intended to be shown.
To conclude, the first step in learning the Japanese language is to master phrases and keywords and in this case, the respect and the etiquette which is a culture will be taught later in the journey. Learn these set phrases and you will be on the path to establishing meaningful relationships.
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