Japanese Language Course 1-Konnichiwa!

Do you know how to say good morning in Japanese? Greetings are essential part of Japanese culture.

Small children learn how to greet properly in Japanese school.

So it is very useful to know how to greet properly, informal or formal depending on whom you are talking to.

Japanese people usually bow when they greet. You can bow formally or informally. For your friend and close friends, you may not even have to bow. But if you want, you can do a simple 15-degree bend or nod of the head.

If you want to bow your boss, you want to do it formally which is a 30-degree tilt to show respect.

Dialogue

Mary: Ohayou gozaimasu sensei. おはようございます。

Suzuki teacher: Ohayou Mary. Genki desuka?　おはようメアリー。元気ですか？

Mary: Hai. Genki desu. Sensei wa?　はい。元気です。先生は？

Suzuki: Maa maa desu.　まあまあです。

Grammar:

Genki Desu: I’m Fine. (Note that Japanese people often skip the subject as it’s considered understood.)

If you were to say a complete sentence, it would be “Watashi wa genki desu.”

Wa is a particle and the closest translation is “As for”.

Subject + Wa + Desu.

Desu is a formal expression so you can skip it when you are talking to your close friend and family.

Instead of “Genki Desu”, you can simply say “Genki”

Essential Words:

Ohayou (Informal):Good morning おはよう

Ohayou gozaimasu (Formal): Good morning　おはようございます

Konnichiwa: Good afternoon　こんにちは

Konbanwa: Good evening　こんばんは

Hai: Yes はい

Iie: No　いいえ

Desu: a formal expression 　です

Wa: a particle　は

Watashi: I 　わたし

Oyasumi (Informal): Good night　おやすみ

Oyasumi nasai (Formal): Good night　おやすみなさい

Arigatou (Informal): Thanks　ありがとう

Arigatou gozaimasu (Formal): Thank you very much.　ありがとうございます

Genki desuka? (Formal): How are you? 　元気ですか？

Genki? (Informal): How are you?　元気？

Genki desu. (Formal): I am fine.　元気です。

Genki (Informal): I am fine. 　元気。

Access interactive online Japanese language course below. Use Chrome, otherwise you may not be able to access the video and quiz.

Lesson 1- How to greet in Japanese

Lesson 1-how to greet-exercise 1