Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [greetings]

挨拶. Reciprocal verbal exchanges like "hello". Includes slang, colloquial, dialectal, and differing politeness levels.

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こんにちは and こんばんは only once a day per person?

I recently saw a video on greetings in Japan and the guy said something that I've never heard before: "you cannot use こんにちは more then once per day to the same person". He proceeded to explain that if you meet the same person again later in the same…
saidy
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Saying goodbye to a store clerk

Many times I find myself saying thanks to a store clerk, flowed by their saying thank you very much. I am used to walking away saying bye or have a nice day, but am not sure what the equivalent is. What is the proper phrase for someone I don't know…
mcmiln
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Is おはようです just weird

I'm watching the anime ひぐらしのなく頃に. There's a character in it who greets people with おはようです. At first I thought it was just a cute affectation, but then I wondered, if おはようございます is okay then why not おはようです? There seem to be quite a few hits on Google…
user3856370
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おはようございます when it's not morning?

In a comment to this answer it was mentioned that おはようございます can be used in a variety of situations other than in the morning. To me it only makes sense to say "good morning" when it is actually morning in some sense. Are there truly situations in…
Earthliŋ
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Hearing いらっしゃいませ when leaving the building. Why?

Whenever I leave my office building for lunch a guard in charge greets me (everyone) with a: お疲れさまです。いらっしゃいませ。 Edit: This is a recording of what I heard. Based on comments I received under this question and what I set my ears to hear, I do hear…
macraf
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Ways to greet someone irrespective of time and situation?

Are there some Japanese greetings like the English "hello"? Most greetings seems to be tied up temporally or by another specific situation ([もしもし] for phones, [こんにちは] during day time). If I left a note behind for someone else I would have no idea…
Christer
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Congratulating someone on the new Era/Emperor

As Japan moves into the Reiwa (令和) era, I was wondering if any traditional greetings exist to congratulate someone on the new Era, Emperor or Year of the Japanese calendar?
Ivan Dankov
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What is the full expression of hajimemashite / 始めまして?

I've read that はじめました or 〜まして is a shortened form of an expression originally meaning “I meet you for the first time”. If that's true, then what is the full expression?
Folaht
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What is the correct response to "Osoreirimasu"?

If someone were to say that to me, what would I say in response? Do I thank them as well, for their service? Do I say "Sumimasen"?
temporary_user_name
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Online versus face to face

Is it ok to still say はじめまして to a Japanese person when you have been talking online prior to meeting face to face? Or would that be weird?
Laura C Mills
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How to greet your workmates casually in Japanese IT field office?

How 30-50 year old Japanese male would say hello to another male colleague in same age in same organisational level in IT company? I'm looking for everyday based not formal way to communicate.
Keke
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What do I have to say when accepting my employer's request to be a LINE friend?

My employer sent a request with a message saying "田中です。"　What do I have to say when accepting my employer's request to be a LINE friend?
Friendly Ghost
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Arimasu as a parting phrase

Hope this is an appropriate question! I visited Tokyo back in September and got by on some very basic Japanese (though more often with the help of their good grasp on English). Anyway, there was a couple of times I heard as a parting phrase... once…
Leonard
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Greeting a friend saying 'yo'

I've heard in anime that close friends greet each other saying 'yo', as if it were the same in English when you say "yo!". I've been searching how to write it, but I have only found the common ways to greet (like konichiwa, etc). Does it have a…
Christopher Francisco
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What does うぃーす mean?

What does うぃーす exactly mean? (I vaguely hear it when people greet each other.) How is it different from other greetings? Is it correct to write it as うぃす too? How to properly type it on a Macbook? The い is a smaller font, and I don't know how to…
user78219
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