Do you know the definition of konichiwa? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word konichiwa, including its definition, etymology, usage, example sentences, and more!
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According to Fluent U, the word konichiwa, or konnichiwa, is a Japanese greeting that means hello. In Japanese, the romaji of konnichiwa is written as こんにちは or 今日は. You can use konnichiwa to mean good day, good afternoon, and more. This is a fairly casual, flexible greeting that can be used at many times. It is also part of the full greeting “konnichi wa gokiken ikaga desu ka?” which means “how are you feeling today?’
In America, this can be used in an offensive way. If one says konichiwa to an Asian looking person, or a person who has Asian elements to their facial features, this is considered a stereotype and is very offensive. Avoid the act of stereo-typing.
What are other Japanese greetings?
There are many different Japanese greetings. Some of these you may use with people you are familiar with like close friends and are more informal such as yo, koncha, ossue, yaho, and saikin do, but others are more formal and acceptable for use with strangers, colleagues, a boss, a host you have gratitude for, and the elderly. Some differ for males and females. Take a look at this list from Fluent U.
おはよう (Good morning)
Rōmaji: “Ohayou.”
初めまして (はじめまして, Nice to meet you)
Rōmaji: “Hajime mashite.”
おはようございます (Good morning)
Rōmaji: “Ohayou gozaimasu/ohayo gozaimasu.”
また会いましょう (また あいましょう, See you again)
Rōmaji: “Mata aimashō.”
やあ (Hi)
Rōmaji: “Yā.”
最近どう？ (さいきん どう, What’s up?)
Rōmaji: “Saikin dō?”
何かあった？(なんか あった, What’s up?)
Rōmaji: “Nan ka atta?”
失礼します (しつれい します, Goodbye)
Rōmaji: “Shitsurei shimasu.”
お元気ですか？ (おげんきですか, How’s it going / Are you healthy?)
Rōmaji: “O genki desu ka?”
元気？(げんき, You good / You healthy?)
Rōmaji: “Genki?”
こんばんは (Good evening)
Rōmaji: “Konbanwa.”
元気だった？(げんき だった, How’s it going?)
Rōmaji: “Genki datta?”
もしもし (Hello?)
Rōmaji: “Moshi moshi”
毎度 (まいど, Hello)
Rōmaji: “Maido.”
さようなら (Goodbye)
Rōmaji: “Sayōnara.”
いらっしゃいませ！ (Welcome!)
Rōmaji: “Irasshai mase!”
ようこそ！ (Welcome home / Welcome to Japan!)
Rōmaji: “Yōkoso!”
大丈夫ですか？ (だいじょうぶ ですか, Are you alright?)
Rōmaji: “Daijōbu desu ka?”
ただいま！ (I’m home!)
Rōmaji: “Tadaima!”
おやすみなさい (I’m going to bed / Goodnight)
Rōmaji: “Oyasumi nasai.”
お疲れ様/お疲れ (Goodbye)
Rōmaji: “Otsukaresama/otsukare sama.”
いただきます。(Welcome/Come in)
Rōmaji: “Itadakimasu.”
What are translations of the word konichiwa?
There are many different ways that someone can refer to a foreigner in many different languages. You may notice that many of these translations look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates,which are often formed when two words in different languages have the same root or language of origin. This list of translations is provided by Word Sense.
Russian: приве́т (informal), здоро́во (colloquial), здра́вствуйте (formal, first “в” is silent), до́брый день, здра́вствуй (informal, first “в” is silent), салю́т
Igbo: kèdu
Uzbek: salom
Uyghur: سالام
Hakka: 你好 (ngì-hó)
Kannada: ತುಳಿಲು, ನಮಸ್ಕಾರ
French: salut (informal), bonjour
Esperanto: saluton
Kabardian: уузыншэм
Ainu: イランカラㇷ゚テ (irankarapte)
Samoan: talofa
Luo: msawa
Wu: 儂好, 侬好 (non hau)
Tigrinya: ሰላም
Mandarin: 你好 (nǐhǎo), 您好 (nínhǎo) (formal), 你們好, 你们好 (nǐmen hǎo) (to a group of people), 好 (hǎo) (following an address form or name), 嗨 (hāi), 哈囉, 哈啰 (hāluó)
Gilbertese: mauri
Chichewa: moni
Mapudungun: mari mari
Laz: გეგაჯგინას
Latvian: sveiki (informal to more than one person or people of indeterminate gender), sveiks (to a man), sveika (to a woman), čau (informal)
Aleut: aang, draas
Maori: kia ora (informal), tēnā koe (formal to one person), tēnā kōrua (formal to two people), tēnā koutou (formal to three or more people)
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
September 23, 2021
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