LIVING IN JAPAN
How to Say Hello in Japanese
It’s not as straightforward as you would think
I sometimes play a game with my English students. We ask the question, “How often do you…” and try to elicit the response we want — always, sometimes, hardly ever, or never.
One of my students asked me, “How often do you say ‘Good morning’ to your children in the morning?”
I could tell by the glint in her eyes, she thought she had an “always” answer in the bag!
Imagine her shock when I answered, “Hardly ever.”
“What? You don’t say “good morning” to your children in the morning?! Why not?”
Because I say, “Hi!”
Something as simple as saying “Hi” is shocking because it is just not the way greetings are done in Japan. There is no anytime-of-the-day word for “Hello” in Japanese.
These are the four main greetings used:
Ohayō-gozaimasu (oh-ha-yo-go-zai-mä-su)
Ohayō-gozaimasu literally means, “You are early” and is used as “Good morning.” It’s generally used before about 10:00–11:00 when first seeing someone that day.
