おやすみなさい
oyasuminasai
In Japanese, "sleep well" is expressed as おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai).
This phrase is used to say goodnight to someone before they go to sleep. While English speakers use "sleep well" to wish for the quality of a person's sleep, おやすみなさい functions primarily as a way to say "goodnight" or wish someone a good rest.
Which one should you use?
For a more specific wish regarding the quality of sleep, you might use ぐっすり眠ってね to convey the idea of "sleep deeply".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
おやすみなさい is the standard polite form used when speaking to superiors or people you are not close with. For formal situations, you can use お休みなさい or おやすみください, which means "Please sleep well". If you wish to use a formal expression specifically to wish someone a good sleep, use ごゆっくり休んでください. In informal settings, you can use ぐっすり眠ってね.
How do you pronounce it?
oyasuminasai
Did you know?
- The kanji used in the formal version of 'to rest', 休む, is composed of two parts: a person (亻) leaning against a tree (木). This visual representation captures the very essence of the 'rest' implied in the phrase.
- In Japanese, おやすみ is used both as a way to say 'goodnight' and as a word for a 'holiday' or 'day off'.
- The polite form おやすみなさい contains the word なさい (nasai), which is actually a polite imperative form of the verb 'to do'. This makes the phrase linguistically closer to 'do your rest' than a simple greeting.
Examples in context
- お休みなさい。明日も頑張ってください。Sleep well. Please do your best tomorrow too.
- おやすみ。良い夢を見てね。Sleep well. Have sweet dreams.
- おやすみなさい。Oyasuminasai.Goodnight.
- それでは、おやすみなさい。Sore de wa, oyasuminasai.Well then, goodnight.
- おやすみなさい、また明日。Oyasuminasai, mata ashita.Goodnight, see you tomorrow.
Example conversation
Misaki and Ren are finishing their phone call late at night.
- 美咲 Misakiそろそろ寝るね。おやすみなさい。Sorosoro neru ne. Oyasuminasai.I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight.
- 蓮 Renうん、おやすみなさい、美咲。Un, oyasuminasai, Misaki.Yeah, goodnight, Misaki.
- 美咲 Misaki蓮くんも、ゆっくり休んでね。Ren-kun mo, yukkuri yasunde ne.You too, Ren, get some rest.
- 蓮 Renありがとう、おやすみ。Arigatou, oyasumi.Thanks, goodnight.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry おやすみなさい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
