こんばんは
konbanwastandard, evening
At night, "hello" in Japanese is こんばんは (konbanwa). It replaces こんにちは (konnichiwa), which is used in the daytime.
こんばんは (konbanwa) is used from the evening on, when it gets dark. It is polite and works for friends, neighbors and strangers.
Meaning: evening greeting (phrase)
Which one should you use?
When leaving at night, the phrase is おやすみなさい (oyasumi nasai), not こんばんは (konbanwa).
How does it change in a sentence?
The last character is written は (ha) but read "wa", as in こんにちは (konnichiwa).
Did you know?
- The phrase こんばんは (konbanwa) comes from a longer sentence like "tonight is…", and so its last character is written は (ha).
Examples in context
- こんばんは、いい夜ですね。Konbanwa, ii yoru desu ne.Good evening, it is a nice night.
- こんばんは、遅くにすみません。Konbanwa, osoku ni sumimasen.Hello, sorry for the late hour.
- みなさん、こんばんは。Minasan, konbanwa.Good evening, everyone.
Example conversation
Mr. Ito meets his neighbor Mrs. Kato on the street in the evening.
- Mr. Itoこんばんは。Konbanwa.Good evening.
- Mrs. Katoこんばんは。遅いですね。Konbanwa. Osoi desu ne.Good evening. It is late.
- Mr. Itoええ、仕事帰りです。Ē, shigoto gaeri desu.Yes, I am coming back from work.
