おやすみ、愛しい人
oyasumi, itoshii hito
The English phrase "goodnight love" is translated into Japanese as おやすみ、愛しい人 (oyasumi, itoshii hito).
This phrase is used to say goodnight to a romantic partner or someone the speaker loves.
Which one should you use?
While おやすみ、愛しい人 translates to "goodnight love," the informal version おやすみ、愛してるよ means "goodnight, I love you."
How do you pronounce it?
oyasumi, itoshii hito
Did you know?
- In real Japanese life, calling a partner 愛しい人 is extremely rare and sounds like a line from a dramatic poem or a song lyric. Most couples would skip the 'love' part entirely and just say おやすみ.
- The kanji for 愛 ('love') in 愛してるよ is often replaced with hiragana or katakana in text messages to make the sentiment feel softer and less heavy.
- Japanese has several words for 'love', and 愛 ('ai') is the most intense. For a more casual 'love' or 'like' in a goodnight greeting, speakers might use 好き ('suki').
Example conversation
A couple is saying goodnight before going to sleep.
- 蓮 Renもう寝るよ。おやすみ、愛しい人。Mou neru yo. Oyasumi, itoshii hito.I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight, love.
- 陽葵 Himari私も寝るね。おやすみ。Watashi mo neru ne. Oyasumi.I'll sleep too. Goodnight.
- 蓮 Renいい夢を見てね。Ii yume o mite ne.Have sweet dreams.
- 陽葵 Himariあなたもね。おやすみなさい。Anata mo ne. Oyasuminasai.You too. Goodnight.
