Greeting

おはよう。

Japanese use 'おはよう Ohayō' to greet people in the morning. Say 'おはよう Ohayō' any time between getting up and noon. Good morning.

おはようございます。

Polite greeting for Good morning is 'おはようございます Ohayou gozaimasu'. Say 'おはようございます Ohayou gozaimasu' to elder people than you or in formal situations.

こんにちは。

Japanese use 'こんにちは Konnichiwa' to greet people in the afternoon. Say 'こんにちわ Konnichiwa' any time between noon and sunset. Note;Hiragana は in the greeting phrase is pronounced 'wa'. Hello/Good afternoon.

いただきます。

Saying 'いただきます itadakimasu' before a meal is a significant piece of Japanese etiquette. Usually, everyone will say the phrase together, but it's also normal for each person to say it individually as they begin eating.

ごちそうさまでした。

Saying 'ごちそうさまでした gochisousamadeshita' after a meal. It means 'Thank you for the meal; it was a feast.'

こんばんは。

Japanese use 'こんばんは Konbanwa' to greet people in the evening. Say 'こんばんわ Konnichiwa' any time between sunset and bedtime. Note; Hiragana は in the greeting phrase is pronounced 'wa'. Good evening.

おやすみなさい。

Japanese use 'おやすみなさい oyasuminasai' to greet people at the bedtime. Say 'おやすみなさい oyasuminasai' before going to bed.

いってきます。

The Japanese have greetings specific for when someone leaves the house. The person who leaves says, ittekimasu, literally 'I'll go and come back.'

いってらっしゃい。

The person staying says itterasshai, literally 'please go and come back.''' These are used daily but only at the home or somewhere the people are based, since it only makes sense when they will go and come back.

ただいま。

The returning person says 'ただいま Tadaima'', literally 'I have come back now.'

おかえりなさい。

The welcoming person says 'おかえりなさい Okaerinasai'. This phrase originally means a remnant of the literal 'Please come back soon' prayer.

げんき　ですか。

Genki means 'lively; full of spirit; energetic; vigorous; vital; spirited' in Japanese. How are you? How are you doing?

はい、げんきです。

If you are feeling 'genki' you can say, 'げんきです' which simply means, 'yeah, I'm fine'. Yes, I am Genki.

さようなら。

さようなら (sayonara) is the formal greeting used when someone leaves. For example, it used as 'goodbye' between teacher and students in the classroom. Japanese people don't use sayonara in everyday conversation that much.