良い夜を
yoi yoru o
The English phrase "have a nice evening" is translated into Japanese as 良い夜を (yoi yoru o).
良い夜を is a polite greeting used when saying goodbye to someone in the evening.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase literally means "a good night" followed by the object marker particle, implying the unspoken verb "to have" or "to spend".
How does it change in a sentence?
The default form 良い夜を is a shortened, conversational version of the more complete and polite 良い夜を過ごしてください, which means "please spend a good night".
How do you pronounce it?
yoi yoru o
Did you know?
- In Japan, saying 良い夜を is actually quite rare in daily life because it can sound like a line from a translated Hollywood movie. Japanese people much more commonly use situational farewells like お疲れ様です (thank you for your work) or 失礼します (excuse me for leaving).
- In Japanese, the concept of 'spending' time is expressed by the verb 過ごす 'sugosu', which literally means 'to pass' or 'to let time flow'.
- Japanese has several words for 'night' including 夜 'yoru' and 晩 'ban'. While 良い夜を uses the former, the later is more common in the greeting こんばんは 'konbanwa'.
Examples in context
- それでは、良い夜を。Sore de wa, yoi yoru o.Well then, have a nice evening.
- お疲れ様でした。良い夜を！Otsukaresama deshita. Yoi yoru o!Good job today. Have a nice evening!
Example conversation
Misaki and Hiroto are leaving the office at sunset.
- 美咲 Misaki大翔さん、お先に失礼します。Hiroto-san, osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.Hiroto, I'm leaving before you.
- 大翔 Hirotoお疲れ様。気をつけて帰ってね。Otsukaresama. Ki o tsukete kaette ne.Good job. Get home safely.
- 美咲 Misakiありがとうございます。良い夜を！Arigatou gozaimasu. Yoi yoru o!Thank you. Have a nice evening!
- 大翔 Hirotoありがとう。美咲さんも良い夜を。Arigatou. Misaki-san mo yoi yoru o.Thanks. You have a nice evening too, Misaki.
