皆さん、こんばんは
minasan, konbanwa
The Japanese phrase for "good evening, everyone" is 皆さん、こんばんは (minasan, konbanwa).
皆さん、こんばんは is a polite and standard way to greet a group of people in the evening. It is suitable for situations such as public speaking or when meeting acquaintances.
Which one should you use?
Using みんな instead of 皆さん makes the greeting more casual and is used among friends or with people of lower social status. Additionally, Konbanwa, minna is an informal variation used among friends, colleagues or people of similar age.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
皆さん、こんばんは is a polite form. For more formal or honorable occasions, you can use Minna-sama, konbanwa. For informal settings, you can use Konbanwa, minna or みんな、こんばんは.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the greeting こんばんは, the final syllable is written with the hiragana character 'ha' (は) but is pronounced as 'wa' because it functions as a particle.
How do you pronounce it?
minasan, konbanwa
Did you know?
- The phrase こんばんは is a linguistic fossil that started as the beginning of a longer question, meaning 'How is your evening?' Over time, the rest of the sentence was dropped.
- In Japanese culture, the choice of greeting is often dictated by the light. While こんばんは is used after dark, if you are meeting a group in the early evening while the sun is still visible, it is more natural to use こんにちは (konnichiwa) instead.
- Despite being used to say 'good evening', the word こんばんは is rarely used by family members at home, who instead use more casual terms or simply acknowledge each other's presence.
Examples in context
- 皆さん、こんばんは。Minasan, konbanwa.Good evening, everyone.
- 皆さん、こんばんは。パーティーへようこそ。Minasan, konbanwa. Paatii e youkoso.Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the party.
- 皆さん、こんばんは。今夜は集まってくれてありがとう。Minasan, konbanwa. Konya wa atsumatte kurete arigatou.Good evening, everyone. Thank you for gathering tonight.
Example conversation
A community event organizer greeting attendees in the evening.
- 美咲 Misaki皆さん、こんばんは。美咲です。Minasan, konbanwa. Misaki desu.Good evening, everyone. I am Misaki.
- 大翔 Hirotoこんばんは、美咲さん。Konbanwa, Misaki-san.Good evening, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔さんも来てくれて嬉しいです。Hiroto-san mo kite kurete ureshii desu.I am happy that you came too, Hiroto.
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとうございます。よろしくお願いします。Arigatou gozaimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.Thank you. It is a pleasure to be here.
