こんにちは
konnichiwa
kamusta in Japanese, the standard greeting is こんにちは (konnichiwa).
In Japanese, you use こんにちは to say hello to another person.
How do you pronounce it?
konnichiwa
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not use kamusta to say hello in a Japanese context. This is a Tagalog word and is not Japanese.
Did you know?
- When answering the phone, Japanese people do not say こんにちは but instead use もしもし (moshimoshi).
- The greeting こんにちは is actually a shortened version of a longer sentence that historically meant 'today is a good day'.
- While こんにちは is the standard 'hello', Japanese people rarely use it with family or very close friends, preferring more casual greetings like おーい or よう.
Example conversation
Yui and Kenta meet at a cafe.
- 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今日はいい天気ですね。Kyou wa ii tenki desu ne.The weather is nice today, isn't it?
- 健太 Kentaそうですね。Sou desu ne.It is, isn't it.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry こんにちは, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
