今日は
konnichiwakanji, rare
In kanji, "hello" can be written 今日は (konnichiwa). The normal spelling is hiragana こんにちは (konnichiwa), so kanji is rare.
Meaning: greeting (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 今日は | konnichiwa | kanji, rare |
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | hiragana, standard |
| 今日は | konnichi wa | kanji, literally "today" |
The characters 今日 (konnichi) mean "today" and は (ha) is the topic particle. That is why the greeting is read "konnichiwa" and not "konnichiha".
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not mix this up with 今日 (kyō), which is the usual reading of the same two characters when they mean "today".
Did you know?
- The characters 今日 are read differently depending on the word: きょう (kyō) as "today" and こんにち (konnichi) in the greeting.
Examples in context
- 今日はいい天気ですね。Kyō wa ii tenki desu ne.The weather is nice today.
- こんにちは。Konnichiwa.Hello.
Example conversation
A Student asks the Teacher how to write hello in kanji.
- Student「こんにちは」の漢字は？"Konnichiwa" no kanji wa?What is the kanji for konnichiwa?
- Teacher「今日は」です。"Konnichiwa" desu.It is 今日は.
- Studentでも、ふつうは書きませんね。Demo, futsū wa kakimasen ne.But it is not usually written that way.
