I can say hello and goodbye by time of day and at work, thank someone, apologize, and ask people to repeat or speak more slowly — and understand when I'm asked whether I speak Japanese.
Politeness in Japanese: what to say and when
Politeness in Japanese: what to say and when
You'll say and hear these phrases on your first day. No grammar needed: each one is said whole.
Choose the greeting by the time of day (see the table). おやすみなさい means “good night” only before bed: never “good evening” or an evening goodbye. In こんにちは and こんばんは the last は is read as わ, though it's written は.
Use the polite forms: ありがとうございます and おはようございます; ありがとう and おはよう are casual.
Saying goodbye: さようなら is for a long parting, not an everyday “bye”. At work, whoever leaves before the others says おさきにしつれいします (“excuse me for leaving first”); those staying reply おつかれさまでした (“thank you for your hard work”). しつれいします (“excuse me”) is said on entering or leaving an office.
すみません does three jobs: an apology, “excuse me…” to get attention, and “thank you for your trouble”.
Address people by last name + さん: たなか（田中）さん. Never use さん about yourself.
Pronunciation: at the end of です and ます, す almost loses its vowel — you hear [des] and [mas]: ございます, しつれいします. The long vowel in ありがとう lasts two full moras; no syllable is stressed.
Instead of shaking hands, people give a short bow.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “アレクセイさん” about yourself — never さん about yourself.
• NOT おやすみなさい in the morning — in the morning, おはようございます.
• NOT さようなら to a coworker leaving work — say おつかれさまでした.
Greetings by time of day
The phrase depends on the time of day; with family and your own coworkers, people don't usually say こんにちは or こんばんは.
| When | Phrase | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| morning | おはようございます | good morning |
| day | こんにちは | hello |
| evening | こんばんは | good evening |
| before bed | おやすみなさい | good night |
Lesson notes
Politeness in Japanese: what to say and when
You'll say and hear these phrases on your first day. No grammar needed: each one is said whole.
Choose the greeting by the time of day (see the table). おやすみなさい means “good night” only before bed: never “good evening” or an evening goodbye. In こんにちは and こんばんは the last は is read as わ, though it's written は.
Use the polite forms: ありがとうございます and おはようございます; ありがとう and おはよう are casual.
Saying goodbye: さようなら is for a long parting, not an everyday “bye”. At work, whoever leaves before the others says おさきにしつれいします (“excuse me for leaving first”); those staying reply おつかれさまでした (“thank you for your hard work”). しつれいします (“excuse me”) is said on entering or leaving an office.
すみません does three jobs: an apology, “excuse me…” to get attention, and “thank you for your trouble”.
Address people by last name + さん: たなか（田中）さん. Never use さん about yourself.
Pronunciation: at the end of です and ます, す almost loses its vowel — you hear [des] and [mas]: ございます, しつれいします. The long vowel in ありがとう lasts two full moras; no syllable is stressed.
Instead of shaking hands, people give a short bow.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “アレクセイさん” about yourself — never さん about yourself.
• NOT おやすみなさい in the morning — in the morning, おはようございます.
• NOT さようなら to a coworker leaving work — say おつかれさまでした.
If you didn't understand: how to ask again
Not understanding the other person is normal; staying silent is worse than asking again. The four set phrases are in the table below.
にほんごができますか and えいごができますか are set questions: “Do you speak Japanese?” and “Do you speak English?” You answer はい or いいえ.
The character か at the end makes a phrase a question. With か the voice rises only a little; the words before it stay level.
Common mistakes:
• NOT はい when you didn't understand — say わかりません.