こんにちはとやあ
konnichiwa to yaa
In Japanese, "hello and hi" is expressed as こんにちはとやあ (konnichiwa to yaa).
This phrase combines two different ways to acknowledge someone or start a conversation. こんにちは is used from late morning until early evening. やあ is a casual greeting.
What does it mean word for word?
The particle と is used here to mean 'and' when connecting two nouns.
Which one should you use?
こんにちは is a standard, polite greeting suitable for most social situations during the day. In contrast, やあ is a casual, informal greeting typically used between close friends or towards someone of lower social status.
How do you pronounce it?
konnichiwa to yaa
When do people say it?
Japanese greetings are highly dependent on the time of day. For formal morning greetings, use おはようございます until around 11 a.m. For a formal evening greeting, use こんばんは from late afternoon until bedtime. For an informal morning greeting, you may use おはよう.
Did you know?
- In Japanese, 'hello' on a telephone call is not こんにちは, but a completely different word: もしもし.
- While こんにちは is used as 'hello' today, it originally meant 'today' or 'this day' and was part of a longer sentence like 'today is a good day'.
- Japanese has several 'hello' equivalents based on the relationship, such as お疲れ様です which greets a colleague by acknowledging their hard work.
Example conversation
Two students meeting at the school entrance.
- 陽葵 Himariこんにちはとやあ！健太、元気？Konnichiwa to yaa! Kenta, genki?Hello and hi! Kenta, how are you?
- 健太 Kentaああ、陽葵。元気だよ。Aa, Himari. Genki dayo.Oh, Himari. I'm doing well.
- 陽葵 Himari今日の授業は準備できた？Kyou no jugyou wa junbi dekita?Are you ready for today's class?
- 健太 Kentaうん、もう大丈夫だよ。Un, mou daijoubu dayo.Yeah, I'm all set.
