ナマステ
namasute
ナマステ (namasute) is the Japanese way to say the English phrase "namaste".
In Japanese, ナマステ is used as a loanword specifically to refer to the Indian greeting, rather than being a native Japanese greeting.
Meaning: a greeting (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
namasute
Did you know?
- In Japanese pop culture, the use of ナマステ is often a comedic shorthand to indicate that a character is trying to act 'zen' or 'spiritual'.
- In Japan, if you use ナマステ to greet a friend, they might think you are practicing yoga or imitating a character from a movie rather than being polite.
- Japanese people might write the word using Katakana, ナマステ, to signal that the word is 'foreign' and belongs to a different cultural context.
Examples in context
- ヨガのクラスでナマステと言いました。Yoga no kurasu de namasute to iimashita.I said namaste in yoga class.
- 彼はナマステという挨拶を好みます。Kare wa namasute to iu aisatsu o konomimasu.He prefers the greeting namaste.
- ナマステはとても素敵な挨拶ですね。Namasute wa totemo suteki na aisatsu desu ne.Namaste is a very lovely greeting, isn't it?
Example conversation
Yota and Misaki are talking about their trip to India.
- 陽太 Yotaインドではナマステって言うんだよ。indo de wa namasute tte iu n da yo.In India, they say namaste.
- 美咲 Misakiナマステっていい言葉だね。namasute tte ii kotoba da ne.Namaste is a nice word.
- 陽太 Yota手を合わせて言うのが一般的だよ。te o awasete iu no ga ippanteki da yo.It's common to say it with your hands together.
- 美咲 Misaki今度使ってみるね。kondo tsukatte miru ne.I'll try using it next time.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “namaste” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
