{"id":6099,"date":"2021-02-12T02:39:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T02:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/sin-categoria\/goodbye-in-japanese\/"},"modified":"2024-06-03T17:39:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T17:39:30","slug":"goodbye-in-japanese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/japanese\/goodbye-in-japanese\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Ways to Say \"Goodbye\" in Japanese"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How do you say \"goodbye\" in Japanese? Most Japanese books teach the word <em>Sayonara<\/em>&nbsp;(\u3055\u3088\u3046\u306a\u3089). Is that the one you know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In that case, I have good and bad news for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is that <em>sayonara<\/em>&nbsp;is indeed the Japanese equivalent of \"goodbye.\" The bad news is that in Japana almost no one uses it. In fact, foreigners are the ones who use it, because it appears in Japanese teaching books. Native speakers, however, don\u2019t use it anymore. Let\u2019s see why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps, as sayonara carries the idea of a final farewell or that you will not see the other person for a long time, this expression has become obsolete with the advancement of technology: now it is much easier to keep in touch with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as we have seen the importance of knowing <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/japanese\/hello-in-japanese\/\">how to say hello in Japanese<\/a> and to show respect to Japanese culture and etiquette when greeting others, it\u2019s just as important to say goodbye using the appropriate expression. Therefore, in this post we\u2019ll see different forms of farewell that everyone who wants to learn Japanese should know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How to say \"goodby\" in Japanese<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Itte kimasu<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:<\/em>\u00a0\u3044 \u3063 \u3066 \u304d \u307e \u3059;\u00a0<em>kanji:<\/em>\u00a0\u884c \u3063 \u3066 \u6765 \u307e \u3059)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It literally means \"to go and return\", and it is used when one leaves the house. It is similar to when we say \"I'm leaving\", \"I'll be back\" or \"see you.\" Although in this case one is going to be away from home all day. The one who stays answers <em>itte rashai<\/em>, literally: \u201cgo and come back\u201d (<em>hiragana:<\/em> \u3044\u3063\u3066\u3089\u3063\u3057\u3083\u3044;<em> kanji: <\/em>\u884c\u3063\u3066\u3089\u3063\u3057\u3083\u3044).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is not only used when leaving home. If you are at work and have to leave your team, for example to go to another office, you can also say <em>itte kimasu<\/em>. Or <em>itte rashai <\/em>if someone else is leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Osaki ni shitsurei shi masu<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:<\/em>\u00a0\u304a \u3055 \u304d \u306b \u3057 \u3064 \u308c \u3044 \u3057 \u307e \u3059;\u00a0<em>kanji:<\/em>\u00a0\u304a \u5148 \u306b \u5931\u793c \u3057 \u307e \u3059)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a well known fact that the Japanese can spend many hours at work. When they leave, they usually use this greeting that means \"Excuse me for going first.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a polite way of saying goodbye to whoever will stay at work, as if one apologized for leaving before the other. To a co-worker you can use the shortened form <em>Osakini <\/em>(<em>hiragana:<\/em> \u304a\u3055\u304d\u306b; <em>kanji:<\/em> \u304a\u5148\u306b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Otsu karesama de shita<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:<\/em>\u00a0\u304a \u3064 \u304b \u308c \u3055 \u307e \u3067 \u3057 \u305f;\u00a0<em>kanji:\u00a0<\/em>\u304a \u75b2 \u308c \u69d8 \u3067 \u3057 \u305f )<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This form of farewell is to respond to the previous greeting. It means \"thank you for your hard work.\" If an office colleague goes home before you and says goodbye with osakini, you respond with this greeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it is your boss who stays (or you are the boss and you stay), the way to say goodby to whoever leaves first can be <em>Gokurousama deshita <\/em>(<em>hirahgana:<\/em> \u3054 \u304f \u308d \u3046 \u3055 \u307e \u3067 \u3057 \u305f; <em>kanji:<\/em> \u5fa1 \u82e6 \u52b4 \u69d8 \u3067 \u3057 \u305f). It means pretty much the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Casual ways to say \"goodby\" in Japanese<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. Ji yaa&nbsp;ne<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:<\/em>\u00a0\u3058 \u3083 \u3042 \u306d)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a very common way to say goodby in Japanese to your friends. It means \"See you\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. Mata&nbsp;ashita<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana<\/em>: \u307e \u305f \u3042 \u3057 \u305f;\u00a0<em>kanji:<\/em>\u307e \u305f \u660e\u65e5)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, it means \u201csee you tomorrow\u201d. With <em>mata<\/em> you can form other greetings depending on when people will see each other again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a formal context, such as work, it isn't used very much. It's common in more casual and informal situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. Ki otsu kete<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:<\/em>\u00a0\u304d \u3092 \u3064 \u3051 \u3066;\u00a0<em>kanji:<\/em>\u00a0\u6c17 \u3092 \u3064 \u3051 \u3066)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This form of farewell is used in the same situations as when we say in English \"Take care\".&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>7. Genki de<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:\u00a0<\/em>\u3052 \u3093 \u304d \u3067;\u00a0<em>kanji:<\/em>\u00a0\u5143 \u6c17 \u3067)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If after spending time in Japan you return to your country, or go to another place, your friends will say goodbye to you with <em>genki de.<\/em> It is the way to wish you \"all the best\" during the time, probably long, in which you will not see each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>8. Bai bai&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:\u00a0<\/em>\u3070 \u3044 \u3070 \u3044;\u00a0<em>kanji:\u00a0<\/em>\u30d0 \u30a4 \u30d0 \u30a4)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes! You nailed it! It's dear old English \"bye bye\". Girls love this Anglicism. Among boys it's not so common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>9. Saraba da<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>(<em>hiragana:\u00a0<\/em>\u3055 \u3089 \u3070 \u3060)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This one for the end because it's quite nice. In fact, it is used as a joke between friends, like when a friend of yours says goodbye saying <em>\"ciao\"<\/em> or <em>\"adi\u00f3s\"<\/em>. Maybe the reason is because it is a very old expression, from the time of the Samurai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know how to handle goodbye greetings in Japanese. Knowing the importance of showing respect to Japanese etiquette, it is very important that as a student of the language you know these greetings to start your conversations on the right foot and end them with the proper finishing touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Would you like to know more? What attracts you to Japanese culture and its language?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hanyuchineseschool.com\/\">Hanyu Chinese School<\/a>&nbsp;of Asian languages we want to help you. Our Japanese courses are tailored to your needs, from the comfort of your home and at the time that best suits you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contact us, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Also, ask for your free lesson and don\u2019t forget to follow us on social media!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We look forward meeting you!<\/p>\n<div style='text-align:center' class='yasr-auto-insert-visitor'><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you say \"goodbye\" in Japanese? Most Japanese books teach the word Sayonara&nbsp;(\u3055\u3088\u3046\u306a\u3089). Is that the one you know? In that case, I have good and bad news for you. The good news is that sayonara&nbsp;is indeed the Japanese equivalent of \"goodbye.\" The bad news is that in Japana almost no one uses it. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":11473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1640,1660],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese","category-japanese-proverbs-phrases"],"acf":[],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":2,"sum_votes":7},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6099"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8422,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6099\/revisions\/8422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.hanyuchineseschool.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}