Greetings and Expressions


This is a list of vital expressions used in everyday Japanese. It is good to have these memorized. You do not have to learn them all now, but try to learn a couple every day. Some of them may seem hard to remember, but if you practice, they shouldn't be a problem. Also, I've included the origins to most of them. Knowing where an expression came from is a very good way to remember that expression.

こんにちは - Konnichi wa - hello, good day - This is the basic greeting in Japanese. However, it is not quite as versitile as English's "hello." You use it from about 11 AM until the late afternoon. Notice the は at the end is actually the subject marker and is pronounced "wa."

おはよう（ございます）- ohayou (gozaimasu) - good morning - This expression should be used from when you get up and until about 11 AM. Adding ございます at the end makes it polite.

こんばんは - konban wa - good evening - This should be used from late afternoon and on. The は at the end is, again, actually the subject marker.

はじめまして - hajimemashite - nice to meet you - This is an expression you use when you first meet someone. Litterally it means "this is the begining."

どうぞ　よろしく - douzo yoroshiku - good to see you - This expression is used shortly after はじめまして hajimemashite. It litterally means "please like me." It is also used before asking a big favor of someone else.

ありがとう（ございます）- arigatou gozaimasu - thank you - The final ございます、again, makes it polite. To further show you thanks, you can add どうも (doumo) before this expression which means "in every way" and is often translated as "thank you very much."

どうも - doumo - thanks, hi, bye - When used by itself, though, どうも has quite the array of meanings. These are all very colloquial, though.

どう　いたしまして - dou itashimashite - you're welcome - This is a long and difficult expression for most beginers. Litterally it means "what have I done" in a humble manner. But if it is confusing to you, remember you don't neccessarily need to use it. It is a very polite expression.

いただきます - itadakimasu - I begin to eat - This is said before eating a meal. English has no direct equivalent. It litterally means "I recieve (this food)" in a humble manner.

ごちそうさま（でした） - gochisou-sama (deshita) - thank you for the meal - This is said after a meal is completed. Again, there is no exact equivalent in English. The final でした is optional and doesn't change the meaning of the expression.

すみません - sumimasen - sorry, excuse me - Japanese has many ways to say "I'm sorry." These expressions are used much more commonly than they are here. すみません　is sometimes shortened to すいません　(suimasen).

ごめんなさい - gomen-nasai - sorry, excuse me - Another expression to say you're sorry. This one sounds like you are a bit more sorry that すみません。However, it is often shortened to a colloquial ごめん or ごめんね。 The last one is very light and friendly.

じゃまたね - ja mata ne - well then, see you later - This expression has more forms than any other in Japanese. They all mean pretty much the same thing, though. じゃ comes from では which means "well then" (you know it from ではない [de wa nai] as well). また means "again." ね is a postposition you will be learning about in the next lesson, but it is used here to make the expression friendly. な is also used in many of these which is like ね only used by males and sounds more rough. さようなら - sayounara - goodbye, farefell - This expression is a bit old and isn't often used to mean "goodbye." It is more commonly used to mean "farefell" or "goodbye forever." It litterally means "if that is to be so." It is shortened to さよなら (sayonara) sometimes.

しつれい　します - shitsurei shimasu - I am being rude - This expression doesn't translate into English very easily. You use it when you are late to a meeting or a similar event or when you leave early from a meeting et cetera. It is sometimes shortened to just しつれい (shitsurei).

あのう - anou - umm..., excuse me - This is a pause-filter expression. You use it when you are thinking and cannot think of what to say. It is also used to get someone's attention similar to saying "excuse me."

えとう - etou - uhh... - This expression is similar to the above, except you can't use it to get someone's attention.

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