こんにちは
konnichiwa
The Japanese way to say "hi formally" is こんにちは (konnichiwa).
こんにちは is a common way to say hello during the day.
Which one should you use?
While こんにちは is used during the day, おはようございます is the appropriate formal greeting for the morning and こんばんは is the appropriate formal greeting for the evening.
How do you pronounce it?
konnichiwa
When do people say it?
In Japanese, different formal greetings are used depending on the time of day. Use おはようございます for the morning until around midday, and こんばんは as a formal greeting during the evening or at night. If you are entering a house, an office or another formal environment, you may use 失礼します to say "excuse me" or "sorry to interrupt".
Did you know?
- In many Japanese offices, coworkers rarely use こんにちは to greet each other, opting instead for the phrase お疲れ様です (otsukaresama desu) to acknowledge their mutual labor.
- The word 'konnichiwa' literally translates to 'as for today', a remnant of a time when people would complete the sentence with a question about the listener's health or the weather.
- Although it is pronounced 'konnichiwa', the final syllable is actually written with the character は (ha), which is usually pronounced as 'ha' but functions as a grammatical particle meaning 'as for'.
Examples in context
- お疲れ様です。Thank you for your hard work.
- こんにちは、お元気ですか？Konnichiwa, o genki desu ka?Hello, how are you?
- こんにちは、いい天気ですね。Konnichiwa, ii tenki desu ne.Hello, the weather is nice, isn't it?
- こんにちは、今日はよろしくお願いします。Konnichiwa, kyou wa yoroshiku onegaishimasu.Hello, I look forward to working with you today.
Example conversation
Kenta and Yui meet at the office entrance.
- 結衣 Yuiこんにちは、健太さん。Konnichiwa, Kenta-san.Hello, Kenta.
- 健太 Kentaこんにちは、結衣さん。Konnichiwa, Yui-san.Hello, Yui.
- 結衣 Yuiいいお天気ですね。Ii o-tenki desu ne.The weather is nice, isn't it?
- 健太 Kentaそうですね。Sou desu ne.It really is.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry こんにちは, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
