こんばんは
konbanwa
The Japanese phrase for "hello in the evening" is こんばんは (konbanwa).
こんばんは means "Good evening." It is used as a greeting when meeting someone during the evening hours. It is not used when you are leaving someone or saying goodbye.
How does it change in a sentence?
While the final syllable is pronounced as 'wa', it is written with the hiragana character は (ha) because it functions as a topic marker in the phrase.
How do you pronounce it?
konbanwa
Did you know?
- In formal business settings, people often avoid こんばんは and instead use お疲れ様です ('otsukaresama desu') to acknowledge the hard work the other person has done that day.
- Although it is a standard greeting today, こんばんは is grammatically an incomplete sentence. It is actually a truncated version of a longer phrase that originally meant 'As for this evening, how are you?'
- The transition from afternoon greetings to using こんばんは depends more on the fading of natural light than on a specific hour on the clock.
Examples in context
- こんばんは、お元気ですか？Konbanwa, o genki desu ka?Hello, how are you?
- こんばんは、田中さん。Konbanwa, Tanaka-san.Hello, Mr. Tanaka.
- 皆さん、こんばんは。Minasan, konbanwa.Hello, everyone.
Example conversation
Yota meets Yui in a park as the sun sets.
- 陽太 Yotaこんばんは、結衣さん。Konbanwa, Yui-san.Hello, Yui.
- 結衣 Yuiあ、陽太さん、こんばんは。A, Yota-san, konbanwa.Oh, hello, Yota.
- 陽太 Yota今日は少し寒いですね。Kyou wa sukoshi samui desu ne.It is a bit cold today, isn't it?
- 結衣 Yuiそうですね。風が強いです。Sou desu ne. Kaze ga tsuyoi desu.It is. The wind is strong.
