What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of two main parts: ご健勝 (gokenshō), which literally means "your good health" or "your well-being" (with the prefix ご adding politeness) and お祈り申し上げます (oinori mōshiagemasu), which is a humble construction meaning "I humbly pray" or "I humbly wish."
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
ご健勝をお祈り申し上げます is highly formal and suited for professional or official contexts. For other ways to express well-wishes, you might use ご多幸をお祈りしています to formally wish someone great happiness or 成功をお祈りしています! to wish for someone's success. In contrast, if you are speaking with friends, you can use much more informal expressions like 幸せをお祈りするよ! (I'm praying for your happiness!) or 頑張ってね! (Do your best!).
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle を (o) is used to mark ご健勝 (good health) as the direct object of the humble verb お祈り申し上げます (to humbly pray/wish).
How do you pronounce it?
gokenshō o oinori mōshiagemasu
Did you know?
- Japanese has a unique set of 'seasonal greetings' that often precede ご健勝. Depending on the month, you might first mention the blooming cherry blossoms or the autumn wind before wishing for the recipient's health.
- Because ご健勝をお祈り申し上げます is so formal, using it with a close friend would actually feel cold or sarcastic. It can create an accidental social distance that makes you seem unfriendly.
- In Japanese business culture, you should avoid using this phrase in person during a conversation. It is designed to be read on paper or a screen, as the humble verb structure is optimized for written correspondence.
Examples in context
- ご多幸をお祈りしています。新しい職場でも頑張ってください。I wish you great happiness. Please do your best at your new workplace.
- 心から幸せをお祈りしています。頑張って、乗り越えてください。I sincerely wish you happiness. Hang in there, and overcome it.
- 皆様のご健勝をお祈り申し上げます。Minasama no gokensho o oinori moshiagemasu.I wish everyone continued health and success.
- 益々のご健勝をお祈り申し上げます。Masumasu no gokensho o oinori moshiagemasu.I wish you continued health and prosperity.
- 末永いご健勝をお祈り申し上げます。Suenagai gokensho o oinori moshiagemasu.I wish you long-lasting health and success.
Example conversation
Ren is sending a formal farewell email to his colleague Himari.
- 蓮 Ren陽葵さん、今までありがとうございました。Himari-san, ima made arigatô gozaimashita.Himari, thank you for everything until now.
- 陽葵 Himariこちらこそ、お世話になりました。kochira koso, osewa ni narimashita.Likewise, thank you for your support.
- 蓮 Ren今後のご健勝をお祈り申し上げます。kongo no gokenshô o oinori môshiagemasu.I wish you the best for your future success.
- 陽葵 Himariありがとうございます。蓮さんも頑張ってください。arigatô gozaimasu. Ren-san mo ganbatte kudasai.Thank you. Please do your best too, Ren.
