こんばんは
konbanwa
The Japanese way to say "bon soirée" is こんばんは (konbanwa).
こんばんは is used exclusively as a greeting when meeting someone in the evening, not as a way to say "have a good evening" when leaving.
Which one should you use?
While こんばんは is used when arriving or meeting someone, おやすみなさい is used when parting ways or going to bed.
How do you pronounce it?
konbanwa
Did you know?
- The final character in こんばんは is written as は, but it is pronounced as 'wa'. This is because it is a leftover particle from an ancient, longer sentence that meant 'As for this evening…'.
- The transition from using こんにちは to こんばんは is not fixed by a clock but by the quality of light, meaning the 'evening' greeting starts when it begins to get dark.
- In very formal business settings, a person might omit こんばんは entirely and instead use お疲れ様です to acknowledge the shared effort of the working day.
Examples in context
- こんばんは、久しぶりですね。Konbanwa, hisashiburi desu ne.Good evening, it has been a long time.
Example conversation
Ren and Yui meet in the hallway of their apartment building.
- 蓮 Renこんばんは、結衣さん。Konbanwa, Yui-san.Good evening, Yui.
- 結衣 Yuiあ、蓮さん、こんばんは。A, Ren-san, konbanwa.Oh, Ren, good evening.
- 蓮 Ren今から買い物ですか？Ima kara kaimono desu ka?Are you going shopping now?
- 結衣 Yuiはい、ちょっとスーパーへ。Hai, chotto suupaa e.Yes, just to the supermarket.
