今日は
konnichi wa[kõ̞ɲ̟ːit͡ɕiβ̞a̠]
In Japanese, hello can be expressed as 今日は (konnichi wa) or 今晩は.
Meaning: greeting (intj)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 今日は | konnichi wa | [kõ̞ɲ̟ːit͡ɕiβ̞a̠] (narrow) |
| 今晩は | konban wa | [kõ̞mbã̠ɰ̃β̞a̠] (narrow) |
今日は is the standard greeting used during the daytime and is often translated as "good afternoon" or "hello." 今晩は is used as a greeting once it is dark or during the evening hours.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 今晩は literally means "as for tonight."
Which one should you use?
今日は is used for daytime greetings, while 今晩は is specifically for the evening.
How do you pronounce it?
konnichi wa
Did you know?
- While 今日は is written with the characters for 'today', it is pronounced 'konnichiwa' only when used as a greeting. When referring to the actual day, it is pronounced 'kyō'.
- In professional environments, 今日は is often replaced by お疲れ様です (otsukaresama desu), which acknowledges the hard work of the colleague rather than just the time of day.
- The phrase 今日は is actually a truncated fragment of a much longer, polite sentence asking how someone is feeling today. It functioned as a way to open a conversation about the listener's well-being.
Examples in context
- 今日は。Hello!This sentence demonstrates the use of 今日は.Tatoeba #778577 by marloncori, translation #373330 by CK
- こんにちは、田中さん。Hello, Mr./Mrs. Tanaka.
- おはようございます、先生。Good morning, teacher.
- こんばんは、お茶子さん。Good evening, Ochako.
- お元気ですか？How are you?
- おっす、太郎！Hey, Taro!
- やあ、元気？Hey, how's it going?
- おはよう、みんな！Good morning, everyone!
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui meet each other on the street during the day.
- 健太 Kenta結衣さん、今日は！Yui-san, konnichiwa!Hello, Yui!
- 結衣 Yuiあ、健太さん、今日は。A, Kenta-san, konnichiwa.Oh, hello Kenta.
- 健太 Kentaどこへ行くんですか？Doko e iku n desu ka?Where are you going?
- 結衣 Yui図書館へ行きます。Toshokan e ikimasu.I am going to the library.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hello” translations and entries 今日は, 今晩は, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 今日は, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
