Here’s an example: あー、すずきさん。久しぶりですね。元気だった？ (Aa-, Suzuki-san. Girls don’t typically say this (although I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t my favorite informal greeting. Don't be surprised if your new Japanese friend offers a handshake to save you the potential embarrassment of not knowing how to bow. Japanese words for hello include 今日は and ハロー. Does the word Bigot possibly also originate from "Bigote" in Spanish?

Thank you, arigato gozaimasu!

You typically would shake hands with each of them as you were told their names. However, in most situations, konnichiwa is appropriate. Just click on the phrase to hear it on Forvo or Google Translate. Answering your phone in Japanese also has its own greeting! When you think about it, the simple greeting is the most basic form of communication.

How to Say Hello in Japanese . You may already know one or two Japanese greetings, like konnichiwa. "Genki" usually means "good health" or "happy" in general, so this means "Are you doing well?". I think it depends on the time we use it. Kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.) Hire a tutor, but if you can't, then use an app called Memrise. This term is used in Japan to greet friends, family or coworkers when arriving back at home or work after a period of absence.

Pronunciation Tip: Many Japanese speakers will say this greeting so quickly that it sounds more like "mohsh mohsh," with the last syllable being virtually silent. It literally means “Go take a rest.”, Between friends and family, you would leave off the nasai that makes the phrase formal. To learn how to bow when you say "Hello" in Japanese, scroll down! How can I say good afternoon in Japanese?

This Japanese Keyboard enables you to easily type Japanese online without installing Japanese keyboard. No, not the 1983 movie starring Jack Nicholson that you probably haven't seen (me neither).

Works well with beginners like me. こんにちは、いかがお過ごしでしたか？（こんにちは、いかが おすごしでした か？）— Hello, how have you been? You wouldn’t greet a passing stranger with こんにちは.

This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. You wouldn’t say this to anyone older than you, though. Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you Good-bye is only one way, however. Find more Japanese words at wordhippo.com! If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn Japanese with real-world videos. Try to look to the ground a middle-distance in front of you, or at the feet of the person you're bowing to. Culture Tip: Because of the formality of Japanese culture, morning and evening are more carefully demarcated from the day than in Western culture. Although Japanese drinking etiquette has its own set of greetings, Kanpai (pronounced: "gahn-pie") is the most common way of saying cheers. “O genki desu ka?” Is your core phrase here. There’s nothing wrong with using it, as long as you remember that it’s only used during the day (after the morning but before the evening) and in semi-formal situations. "Arigato" means thank you (casual) or you can say "arigato gosaimas" (formal). wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws.