Greetings

If you ever plan to go to Japan or talk to someone in Japanese the first thing you're going to need to know is your greetings so that you can start a conversation or end a conversation. Greetings are quite a easy part of Japanese but can still be tricky for people new to Japanese. An easy way to get used to this is to learn how to spell the word you are trying to learn this helps with pronunciation. Below you can find a list of basic Japanese greetings with the spelling and the pronunciation next to them.

English:                                        Japanese:                                    Pronunciation:
Good Morning                             Ohayou                                       O-hi-yo
Good Morning Formally               Ohayou Gozaimasu                     O-hi-yo Go-zai-mas
Hello                                            Konnichiwa                                Con-ich-e-wa
Good Afternoon                           Konbanwa                                 Con-bun-wa
Good Evening                              Konbanwa                                  Con-bun-wa
Good Night                                 Oyasuminasai                              O-ya-su-me-na-sai
See You Later                             Ja mata                                        Ja-ma-ta
Goodbye                                     Sayonara                                     Sai-yo-na-ra
I'm Sorry                                     Gomen Nasai                               Go-men Na-sai
Excuse Me                                 Sumimasen                                   Sue-me-ma-sen

•  Konbanwa is too be said after four o'clock no earlier
•  Adding gozaimasu to any word adds respect e.g "Konbanwa gozaimasu" is  good afternoon "respectfully"
•  Sumimasen is said for small things an example being bumping into someone
•  Gomen Nasai is said for normal or big things for instance accidentally tripping someone over