Lesson 1: Greetings
Read this page briefly and spend most of your time on drill exercise.
Expressions
Click to play audio.
| When you meet or leave someone | ||
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| Hello. | Konnichiwa. | |
Pronounce "n" and "ni" separately. It's like "kon-nichiwa". |
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| Good morning. | Ohayō gozaimasu. | |
The last vowel "u" is not clearly pronounced. It's like "gozaimas". Informal Style: Ohayō. |
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| Good evening. | Konbanwa. | |
Used at the beginning of the conversation, not at the end. |
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| Good night. | Oyasuminasai. | |
Informal Style: Oyasumi. |
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| Goodbye. | Sayōnara. | |
In general, used when people will not see each other for some time. Informal Style: Sayonara. (short "o" after y). |
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| See you. | Dewa mata. | |
| See you tomorrow. | Dewa mata ashita. | |
| See you next week. | Dewa mata raishū. | |
dewa: well, now or so mata: again |
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| When you thank or apologize to someone | ||
|---|---|---|
| Thank you. | Arigatō gozaimasu. | |
| Thank you very much. | Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu. | |
| Thank you. (past) | Arigatō gozaimashita. | |
| Thanks. | Dōmo. | |
The last vowel "u" is not pronounced ly. gozaimas(u). Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu.: To emphasize. Arigatō gozaimashita.: To thank for something in the past. Dōmo.: To thank for a small favor. Informal Style: Arigatō. |
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| You're welcome. | Dōitashimashite. | |
| Don't mention it. | Iie. | |
Iie. (literally means "No.") also can be used with the rising accent if it's not a big deal. |
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| Excuse me. | Sumimasen. | |
| Yes. | Hai. | |
Used when you talk to someone, and to apologize for small faults (Sorry.). Hai. (Yes.) can be used to answer someone's call. |
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| I'm sorry. | Gomennasai. | |
| I'm sorry. | Dōmo sumimasen. | |
| Don't be sorry. | Iie. | |
Dōmo sumimasen. is also used. It sounds more polite. As a response, Iie. can be used if it's not a big deal. |
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| When you start or finish eating | ||
|---|---|---|
| (before eating) | Itadakimasu. | |
Literally means "I accept (the food)". Used when you start eating as a signal "Let's start". You can say this to the person who is treating you the meal. |
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| (after eating) | Gochisōsamadeshita. | |
Literally means "It was a wonderful feast". Used when you finished eating. You can say this to thank the person who treated you the meal. |
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In this course, all the Japanese words and sentences are shown in Rōmaji (Roman alphabet). See Rōmaji page to check how to pronounce Rōmaji letters.
Basic Rules
How to address a person
In general, add "san" after one's family name.
"san" is like Mr., Mrs., or Miss..
For example, Mr. Tanaka is Tanaka-san. But for foreigners (westerners), people add san after the first names such as Paul-san or Kate-san.
Except for the close relationships, people address almost anybody with san.
| Hello, Mr. Tanaka. | Tanaka-san, konnichiwa. |
Yes and No
Yes is "hai". No is "iie".
As shown on the Expressions page, Hai. and Iie. can be used in different contexts.
