ご結婚おめでとうございます
gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu
In Japanese, "congratulations on your wedding" is expressed as ご結婚おめでとうございます (gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu).
The phrase ご結婚おめでとうございます is used to express happiness and good wishes to someone who has just gotten married. It is appropriate for both the act of getting married and the wedding ceremony itself. You can enhance your message by adding certain phrases: adding 末永くお幸せに conveys a wish for a long and happy marriage, 新婚生活が素晴らしいものとなりますように expresses a wish for a wonderful married life and 今から新たな人生の始まりですね can be added to a congratulatory message.
Which one should you use?
Using the full phrase ご結婚おめでとうございます is the standard polite form. You can make it more informal by dropping the honorific ご and the polite ございます, resulting in 結婚おめでとう. For extremely formal situations, you can use ご結婚お慶び申し上げます.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For very formal occasions, use ご結婚お慶び申し上げます. If you are speaking to close friends or family, the informal 結婚おめでとう is more suitable.
How does it change in a sentence?
The phrase ご結婚おめでとうございます is a complete, polite expression. It does not require a particle like に to mean "on" in order to function naturally in Japanese.
How do you pronounce it?
gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu
Did you know?
- In traditional Japanese weddings, guests often give cash in special envelopes called shugi-bukuro, and the amount must be an odd number to prevent the couple from easily 'splitting' the money and separating.
- If you are writing a congratulatory message in a formal card, you should avoid using commas or periods, as a break in the sentence could symbolically represent a 'break' or an 'interruption' in the couple's happiness.
- In traditional Japanese wedding contexts, you should avoid using certain words like 'cut' or 'break' in your congratulatory message, as these are considered 'imikotoba' or taboo words that suggest a severing of ties.
Examples in context
- ご結婚おめでとうございます！Gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu!Congratulations on your wedding!
- 本当にご結婚おめでとうございます。Hontou ni gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu.Truly, congratulations on your wedding.
- 改めて、ご結婚おめでとうございます。Aratamete, gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu.Once again, congratulations on your wedding.
Example conversation
Himari meets Ren at a restaurant to celebrate his marriage.
- 陽葵 Himari蓮さん、ご結婚おめでとうございます！Ren-san, gokekkon omedetou gozaimasu!Ren, congratulations on your wedding!
- 蓮 Renありがとうございます。陽葵さんも来てくれて嬉しいです。Arigatou gozaimasu. Himari-san mo kite kurete ureshii desu.Thank you. I am happy you came too, Himari.
- 陽葵 Himari今日は素敵な日になりますように。Kyou wa suteki na hi ni narimasu you ni.I hope today is a wonderful day.
- 蓮 Renはい、最高の思い出にします。Hai, saikou no omoide ni shimasu.Yes, I will make it the best memory.
