Japanese/Lessons/Introduction/Konnichiwa/Formal salutations

In this lesson, we are going to learn how to greet and how to introduce yourself in Japanese: ～は　～です。 ～は　～ではありません。 ～は　～じゃありません。

Dialogue

Meeting at the airport

Mr. Tanaka is making a trip to Okinawa and has arranged to meet with Ms. Hayasaka at the airport. Neither party has met the other before. She is waiting for him with a sign that has his name on it.

Japanese		English
田中(たなか):	はじめまして。田中(たなか)です。	Tanaka:	How do you do. I'm Mr. Tanaka.
早坂(はやさか):	ようこそ、田中(たなか)さん。はじめまして。早坂(はやさか)です。	Hayasaka:	Welcome, Mr. Tanaka. How do you do. I'm Ms. Hayasaka.
田中:	よろしくお願(ねが)いします。	Tanaka:	It is nice to meet you.
早坂:	こちらこそ、よろしくお願(ねが)いします。	Hayasaka:	The pleasure is mine, it is nice to meet you.

Elevator chat

Mr. Tanaka sees Ms. Hayasaka on the way into their meeting the next day, and she holds the elevator open for him as he steps on.

{{Japanese conversation|break|She holds the elevator door open and Mr. Tanaka steps on.

Japanese		English
田中:	早坂さん、おはようございます。	Tanaka:	Good morning, Ms. Hayasaka.
早坂:	おはようございます、田中さん。	Hayasaka:	Good morning, Mr. Tanaka.
田中:	ありがとうございます。	Tanaka:	Thank you.
早坂:	どういたしまして。	Hayasaka:	Don't mention it.

Campus greetings

Terumi and Kouichi are friends from school. Terumi sees Kouichi walking across campus one morning and calls out to him.

Japanese		English
照美(てるみ):	おーい、幸一(こういち)君(くん)。	Terumi:	Hey, Kouichi.
幸一(こういち):	照美(てるみ)ちゃん、おはよう。元気(げんき)？	Kouichi:	Terumi, good morning. You all right?
照美:	うん、元気(げんき)。幸一(こういち)君(くん)元気(げんき)？	Terumi:	Yeah, I'm fine. You all right, Kouichi?
幸一:	まぁまぁ。	Kouichi:	Okay, I guess.

Daily greetings

Japanese		English
山田(やまだ)さんは鈴木(すずき)さんに会(あ)う。 — Mr Yamada meets Ms Suzuki.
山田(やまだ):	鈴木(すずき)さん、こんにちは。	Yamada:	Good day, Mr. Suzuki.
鈴木:	こんにちは、山田さん。	Suzuki:	Good day, Mr. Yamada.
山田:	お元気(げんき)ですか。	Yamada:	Are you well?
鈴木:	ええ、元気です。	Suzuki:	Yes, I'm well.

Personal introduction

こんにちは、私(わたし)は　山田(やまだ)です。 — Hello, I'm Yamada.

私は　日本(にほん)人(じん)です。— I'm Japanese.

私は　アメリカ人ではありません。 — I'm not an American.

はじめまして。 — Pleased to meet you.

Please note the lack of the "さん" honorific, as Yamada is talking about himself.)

Chit-chat

Japanese		English
たなか:	すずきさん、こんにちは。	Tanaka:	Good afternoon Ms Suzuki.
すずき:	ああ、たなかさん。　こんにちは。　こちら　は　やまださん　です。	Suzuki:	Ah, Mr. Tanaka. Good afternoon. This is Mr. Yamada.
やまだ:	初めまして、やまだ　です。	Yamada:	How do you do, I'm Yamada.
たなか:	やまださん　ですか。　たなか　です。　どうぞ　よろしく。	Tanaka:	Mr. Yamada? I'm Tanaka. Nice to meet you.
やまだ:	よろしく。	Yamada:	Nice to meet you.

Inquiring for names

Japanese		English
Ａさん:	お名前(なまえ)は何(なん)ですか？	A:	What's your name?
Ｂさん:	私(わたし)は〜です。	B:	It's 〜.

The word "私"(わたし) is one of the many ways in which you can express the first person singular (i.e. "I") in Japanese. It can be used in polite and plain language. The formal version is read わたくし.

Inquiring for nationality

Japanese		English
Ａさん:	お国(くに)はどちらですか？	A:	What country are you from?
Ｂさん:	〜です。	B:	I'm from 〜.

Japanese		English
Ａさん:	アメリカ人(じん)ですか？	A:	Are you an American?
Ｂさん:	はい、アメリカ人です。	B:	Yes, I am.
Ｂさん:	いいえ、アメリカ人じゃありません。	B:	No, I'm not.

In Japanese, nationalities are formed by adding adding the word for person, 人(じん), to the name of a country.

Greeting and introduction

Mr Yamada and his friend Mr Tanaka meet Ms Suzuki.

Japanese		English
やまだ:	すずきさん、こんにちは。	Yamada:	Hello Ms. Suzuki.
すずき:	こんにちは　やまださん。	Suzuki:	Hello Mr Yamada.
やまだ:	おげんき　です　か。	Yamada:	Are you well?
すずき:	ええ、げんき　です。	Suzuki:	Yes, I am well.
やまだ:	こちら　は　わたし　の　ともだち　です。　たなか　です。	Yamada:	This person is my friend. He is Tanaka.
すずき:	すずき　です。はじめまして。	Suzuki:	I'm Suzuki. Nice to meet you.
たなか:	はじめまして。	Tanaka:	Nice to meet you.
やまだ:	もう　いかなければ　なりません。　じゃぁまた。	Yamada:	Well, I have to go. See you later.
すずき:	じゃぁまた。	Ms. Suzuki:	See you later.
たなか:	また　ね。	Tanaka:	Later!

Vocabulary and phrases

Common Japanese Salutations (Formal)

Greeting	Kana
Good morning.	おはようございます。
Good afternoon.	こんにちは。
Good evening.	こんばんは。
How do you do./Pleased to meet you. (lit. we've started)	はじめまして。
Welcome.	ようこそ。
Nice to meet you (lit. "Please be good (to me)")	よろしくおねがいします。
Likewise (lit. "This side for sure (who should say so)")	こちらこそ。
Thank you.	ありがとうございます。
Thank you very much.	どうも ありがとうございます。
You're welcome./Don't mention it./No problem.	どういたしまして。

こちらこそ

This expression can be used to return a polite expression such as ありがとうございます or よろしくお願(ねが)いします

Formality

Some of the phrases above use polite forms, used when speaking to a superior or an equal with whom one has only loose ties.

Time of day

おはようございます is used in the morning (till about 10:30am) or when first meet in a day.

こんにちは is used during the day.

こんばんは is used during the evening and at night.

These phrases are only used in greeting, never in parting.

Literal Meaning

おはようございます It is early.

こんにちは Today...

こんばんは This evening...

はじめまして For the first time...

よろしくお願(ねが)いします I humbly ask for your favor.

こちらこそ This side for sure (It is I who should be the one to say)...

ありがとうございます I am grateful.

1. さん: Mr.; Mrs.; Miss; Ms.
   • さん is an appellation added to the end of a name to indicate respect. It is roughly equivalent to Mr., Ms., etc. in English, but can be used on either the family name or the given name. It can also be used on a vocation (e.g. 理容師(りようし)さん "barber", お巡(まわ)りさん "police officer"), or even an animal (e.g. 兎(うさぎ)さん "rabbit"). The latter usage is considered childish.
   • さん is never used on oneself or those in one's in-group, only on others toward whom one should show respect.
   • see also 君(くん), ちゃん, 様(さま), 氏(し)

1. 元気(げんき) (na-adj): healthy; cheerful; energetic
   • 元 means foundation and 気 refers to chi, the Chinese metaphysical concept of energy. Thus, saying one's chi is stable means that the individual is healthy, happy, and energetic.
2. はい (interj): yes
3. ええ (interj): yes
   • polite and somewhat feminine
4. うん (interj): yeah
5. まぁまぁ (na-adj): okay, fair, not bad, so so

Common Japanese Salutations

Greeting	Kanji	Kana	Notes
Formal
Are you well?	お元気ですか。	おげんきですか。
I am well.	元気です。	げんきです。
I'm okay.		まぁまぁです。
Informal
You all right?	元気？	げんき？	rising intonation
I'm all right.	元気だ。¹ 元気。²	げんきだ。¹ げんき。²	falling intonation
Okay, I guess.		まぁまぁ。

• ¹ Sounds more masculine.
• ² Relatively gender-neutral.

お元気(げんき)ですか。

This is used between people who are acquainted with each other and is roughly equivalent to English "How are you?" or "How have you been?"

When responding, the お at the beginning and the か at the end are dropped, leaving 元気(げんき)です

元気(げんき)？

This is the informal way to ask "How are you?"

The question is asked with a rising intonation.

The affirmative response can be 元気(げんき)だ, which sounds somewhat masculine, or 元気(げんき), which is more gender-neutral.

まぁまぁです。, まぁまぁ。

These are acceptable responses if you are not feeling particularly healthy or cheerful at the moment.

Grammatical construction

お元気ですか。 = お (polite prefix) + 元気(げんき) "healthy; happy" + です (noun predicate ending) + か (question marker)

元気です。 = 元気(げんき) "healthy; happy" + です (noun predicate ending)

Clarifications

Why is the question お元気(げんき) but the answer just 元気(げんき) -- what happened to the お o?

• The お is an exalted prefix, meaning that the health (元気(げんき) genki) you are referring to is the health of someone you wish to exalt. Japanese honorifics do not allow you to exalt yourself, so you can never use お元気(げんき) o-genki to talk about your own health.

Well, can't I just ask 元気(げんき)ですか without the exalted お?

• Yes, you may. The お just makes it more polite.

Can I ask お元気(げんき) informally?

• It sounds strange because normally if you are exalting someone, you would also use the polite ですか ending.

Japanese	English	Reading	Notes
山田	Yamada (a common Japanese family name)	やまだ
鈴木	Suzuki (a common Japanese family name)	すずき
こんにちは	Good day	こんにちは
元気	healthy	げんき
ええ	yes	ええ
私	I, me	わたし (or わたくし)
日本人	Japanese (person)	にほんじん (or にっぽんじん)
初めまして	Nice to meet you.	はじめまして
アメリカ人	American (person)	アメリカじん
～さん	An honorific similar to Mr., Mrs., Ms. and Miss	～さん

Supplementary vocabulary

Japanese	English	Reading	Notes
彼	he	かれ
彼女	she, girlfriend	かのじょ
学生 生徒	student	がくせい せいと
先生	teacher	せんせい
社員	employee	しゃいん

Japanese	English	Reading	Notes
おはようございます	Good morning	おはようございます
こんばんは	Good evening	こんばんは
おやすみなさい	Good night	おやすみなさい

• 田中 (たなか) - Japanese family name.
• 鈴木 (すずき) - Japanese family name.
• 山田 (やまだ) - Japanese family name.
• こんにちは - "Good day, good afternoon"
• か - question particle. This is added at the end of a sentence to change it into a question. It should be noted that using the actual question mark (?) is not necessary, but it is not considered incorrect to have it either.

挨^あい拶^さつ ・ Basic Phrases and Japanese Greetings (aisatsu・あいさつ)

Greeting	Hiragana
Good morning.	おはようございます。
Good day.	こんにちは。
Good evening.	こんばんは。
Good night/I'm going to sleep.	おやすみなさい。
How do you do./Pleased to meet you.	はじめまして。
Welcome.	ようこそ。
Nice to meet you	よろしくおねがいします。
Likewise (It is I who should say so)	こちらこそ。
Thank you.	ありがとうございます。
Thank you very much.	どうも ありがとうございます。
You're welcome./Don't mention it./No problem.	どういたしまして。
Excuse me./I'm sorry to trouble you.	すみません。
I am sorry for what I have done.	ごめんなさい。

Usage Notes

• おはようございます is used in the morning (until about 10am) or when waking up.
• こんにちは is used during the day.
• こんばんは is used during the evening and at night.
• はじめまして should be used if one has not already met the other person.
• These phrases are only used in greeting, never in parting.

• おやすみなさい is only used before going to sleep

Some Basic Words in Japanese

Noun	Hiragana	Kanji
pen	ぺん	--
pencil	えんぴつ	鉛えん筆ぴつ
scissors	はさみ	鋏はさみ
ruler	ものさし	物もの差さし
glue	のり	糊のり
note book	のうと	--

日 ・ 本 ・ 人 ・ 友 ・ 天 ・ 元 ・ 田 ・ 中 ・ 気 ・ 何

Kanji	Common Meanings	訓読み (Kunyomi)	音読み (Onyomi)	Example	Example Meaning
日	sun, day	ひ、か	ニチ、ジツ	日にち曜よう日び	Sunday
本	book	もと	ホン	日に本ほん語ご	Japanese language
人	person	ひと	ジン、ニン	日本人じん	Japanese person
友	friend	とも	ユウ	友とも達だち	friend
天	sky, heaven	あめ、あま	テン	天てん子し	emperor
元	origin	もと	ゲン、ガン	元もと元もと	originally, always
田	rice field	た	デン	田た中なか	common Japanese surname
中	middle	なか、あた-る	チュウ	中ちゅう国ごく	China
気	power	いき	キ、ケ	天てん気き	weather
何	what	なに、なん	カ	何なん時じですか？	What time is it?

Kanji	Hiragana	Formality
私	わたし	polite/casual
私	わたくし	formal
僕	ぼく	casual, more often used by males
俺	おれ	casually used by men, can be rude
私	あたし	used by women/indicates femininity
私	あたくし	used by women/formal/indicates femininity
わし	わし	casually used by old people
あなた	あなた	you1/may sound impolite
名前	なまえ	name

• ^１　Japanese regularly omit the subject from sentences when they are obvious from context. Hence, pronouns are hardly used. Whenever forced to use a pronoun, it is better to refer to someone by their proper name or title. あなた, may give the impression of a news anchor speaking at them or some unfamiliar person.

Kana	English
イギリス	Britain
アメリカ	America
にほん１	Japan
かんこく2	Korea
ちゅうごく3	China
タイ	Thailand
ベトナム	Vietnam
ブラジル	Brazil
メキシコ	Mexico
カナダ	Canada
ドイツ	Germany
フランス	France

• ^１日^に本^ほん・にほん・Nihon
• ²韓^かん国^こく・かんこく・Kankoku
• ³中^ちゅう国^ごく・ちゅうごく・Chuugoku

NOTE: Most countries are written in katakana as they are foreign words. "Nihon"　日本, for example, is not and neither is "Chuugoku" 中国(China).

Culture

"How are you?" and "Genki?" may translate the same, but the phrases are culturally incompatible. In general, Japanese do not ask each other how the other is every day. "Genki?" is used only when people meet after a long while. For example, when one calls their mother in Japan, the first thing one might ask is "Genki?", however, one would not ask friends whom the see every day, "Genki?"

"Genki" is, culturally, much closer to "How have you been?". Although "How are you?" is common greeting in Western countries, it is culturally more accepted to simply say "Kon-nichi-wa."

Also in English countries, the expected answer to the English "How are you?" is "Fine, thanks." Japanese, however, tend to respond quite literally to the question お元気(げんき)ですか. It is not considered rude in Japan to go into detail about your medical situation. In fact, when a Japanese has a cold or other disease that can be transmitted aerially, it is considered good manners to wear a mask resembling a surgical mask over the mouth and nose to avoid infecting others with whom you come in contact.

So if you're sick and a Japanese friend asks you, お元気(げんき)ですか, feel free to tell them all about your ailment (within reason). The following words might help:

• 風邪(かぜ): cold
• 咳(せき): cough
• インフルエンザ: flu
• 病気(びょうき): sickness

Grammar

こんにちは

This phrase is equivalent to saying "Good day" in english, and is only said once a day to each person. It is used from 10-11 A.M. to around sunset.

お元気　ですか

Translated as "Are you well?", it is commonly used after a greeting to politely start a conversation.

はじめまして

Meaning "Nice to meet you", it's used mostly as a precursor to an introduction.

～は　& ～です

は is a particle; it looks like ha but is pronounced wa.

The particle is used to express one thing's relation or status, much like English speakers say "My name is Clem" or "He is burning!". It states the topic of the sentence (some more uses and contexts will be studied further on).

です is used to affirm a statement.

For example, わたしのなまえはメアリーです means 'my name is Mary'.

か

This is a particle added to the end of the sentence to make it a question. For example:

• あなたは　山田さんです。(You are Mr. Yamada.)
• ⇒ あなたは　山田さんですか。(Are you Mr. Yamada?)

~さん

This is a honorific. An honorific is a particle added to the end of a name to show respect. Honorifics are never used when talking about yourself or anything related to yourself (like your siblings, for instance), but when you are talking about someone else. So it's wrong to say:

• 私は山田さんです。(I am Mr. Yamada, This sounds very strange to japanese ears.)

or

• あなたは山田ですか。(Are you Yamada? This is incorrect because you don't know Yamada.)

When talking to friends or colleagues you can drop さん or replace it with くん and ちゃん.e.g. Hiroko and Matsumoto, 2 high school friends arrive at school.

• hiroko: まつもとくん、げんき？
• matsumoto: ええ、げんき。ひろこちゃんは？

Introducing yourself

When you meet someone for the first time, you first say,

はじめまして

"Nice to meet you" (more literally, "This is the first time...")

You should not use はじめまして if you have already met the person.

Next, you introduce yourself by saying,

私は＿＿です (わたし　は ＿＿です).

I am ＿＿.

Your family name should be used in place of the blank. If you know how, pronounce your name in Japanese.

• 私 (わたし) means "I, me, myself".
• は is the topic-marker particle in this sentence, so it is pronounced "wa".
• です is a polite ending. Here it means "to be" (the copula), but we will see later that it has other uses.

Finally, you say どうぞ　よろしく おねがいします, which means something like "Please favor me with your friendship".

Let's put it all together. If your name were 田中（たなか), you would say.

audio はじめまして、私は田中です。どうぞよろしくおねがいします。

Note: You can omit 私は and just say "〜です" when it is clear that the topic being talked about is yourself.

Introducing others

When you want to introduce someone to another person, you gesture to the person and say,

こちら　は　＿＿さん　です.

This is Mr/Miss/Mrs/Ms ＿＿.

• こちら is a polite way of saying "this (person)"
• 〜さん is an honorific suffix denoting Mr., Miss, Mrs., or Ms.

すずき さん

Mr/Ms Suzuki.

'audio こちらはすずきさんです。

Note: When you are addressing or talking about someone, you should add the honorific suffix 〜さん to their name. Never use 〜さん after your own name, since this is inappropriate.

Summary

Japanese	Pronunciation	English
初めまして	はじめまして	"I'm meeting you for the first time." (similar to the English "How do you do?")
私	わたし	I, me, myself
は	(wa)	topic-marker particle
です	des(u)	copula verb "to be"
どうぞ　よろしく	douzo yoroshiku	"Please favor me with your friendship." (similar to the English "Nice to meet you.")
こちら	kochira	This person here
さん	san	honorific suffix added to someone else's name

Practice

Duration: 5-10 minutes

1. Drill: What is the proper phrase for each situation?
   • Greeting someone for the first time.
   • Greeting an acquaintance in the daytime.
   • Greeting an acquaintance at night.
   • Greeting an acquaintance in the morning.
   • Expressing gratitude.
   • Expressing best wishes to someone you've just met.
   • Responding to an expression of gratitude.
   • Welcoming a guest into your home.
2. Drill: What is an appropriate response to each phrase?
   • おはようございます
   • はじめまして
   • ありがとうございます
   • ようこそ
   • よろしくお願(ねが)いします
3. Converse: Have the following conversations with another student. If self-studying, converse with yourself.
   • Introduce yourself and tell each other your names.
   • Meet each other for the second time.
   • One student should do something kind for another, who should respond gratefully.

Click here to see answers.

1. Ask your neighbor how they are doing in informal Japanese. When asked how you are doing, give an appropriate response.
2. Repeat the same exercise for your teacher using formal Japanese.

1. When should はじめまして be used?
2. What is the meaning of どうぞ　よろしく おねがいします?
3. Is "私は田中さんです" a correct sentence? If not, why?
4. How would you introduce yourself to someone you are meeting for the first time?
5. How would you introduce someone to another person?

• Answers to Lesson 1

• Practice by copying kanji into a notebook, preferably a kanji notebook with small boxes in which to draw them. When using these note books, draw the kanji so that they are contained in the center of the box. Avoid crossing the outside lines and try to preserve uniformity as much as possible. Try to write each kanji correctly at least 10-20 times a day.

Imagine you are in these situations. Write the applicable phrase to each situation.

1. You accidentally bump into a man on the street?
2. Your friend introduces you to someone new?
3. You see a friend when you're out at night?
4. You greet your co-workers in the morning?
5. You are about to go to bed?
6. Someone hands you something you need?
7. Someone thanks you?

Links

Misunderstanding about "How are you?" by Keiichiro