Contemporary Art Blog

Contemporary Art Blog by Soniei

Archive for the “Japanese Lessons” Category

Good Night in Japanese – Oyasumi and Oyasuminasai

Posted on March 1st, 2012 by Soniei

Strasburg's Night by Igor Zenin

Oyasumi

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Oyasumi is a casual way of saying good night in Japanese. You would use this term when talking to close friends or family you know very well.

Oyasuminasai

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Oyasuminasai is a more formal way of saying good night. You would use this term when talking to someone you don’t know very well.

If you don’t know if you should say oyasumi or oyasuminasai, use the latter just to be safe.

Image (above): Strasburg’s Night – Art Print by Igor Zenin (ImageKind)

Artist’s Description of Image: Strasbourg by night, near the famous cathedral. Moon and clouds … and the light from the windows and gleaming on the brick pavement …

Goodbye In Japanese – Sayōnara, Shitsurei Shimasu, Shitsurei Itashimasu, Bye-Bye and Ja-ne

Posted on February 29th, 2012 by Soniei

Formal Way of Saying Goodbye

Sayōnara

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Sayōnara means goodbye in Japanese. You may note that you must hold the ō sound. Sayōnara is polite enough that you can use it for most occasions.

Shitsurei Shimasu

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In business situations, Shitsurei shimasu should be used while bowing.  This term translates to, “Please allow me to excuse myself”. An example of when to use this term is when speaking to colleagues.

Shitsurei Itashimasu

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An even more formal way of saying goodbye is shitsurei itashimasu. All your adding is ita to shimasu.  An example of when to use this term is when speaking to a president, CEO or business clients.  Don’t forget to bow!

Informal / Casual Way of Saying Goodbye

In Japanese, you can also say bye bye or ja-ne to say good-bye. However, make sure you only use these when speaking to close friends. These terms could be interpreted as being rude if you use them when speaking to someone older than you, to someone who has a higher social status than you, or when you’re in a business setting. When in doubt, use one of the more formal ways of saying goodbye.

Bye Bye

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Ja-ne

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Good Evening in Japanese – Konban Wa

Posted on February 28th, 2012 by Soniei

Konban Wa

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Konban wa means good evening in Japanese.

You may note that konban wa actually sounds more like komban wa. This is because the n is before a b. You might want to check out my blog post about the Japanese alphabet to learn more about this rule.

Konban wa is often misspelled as konbanwa. Konban should be separated from the wa.