Lesson 1 - Notes:
Greeting and Introducing
(photo
by paulsynnott used
under terms of Creative Commons license.)
1. The phrase ohayō gozaimasu literaIIy means “it is early." This greeting is not generally used after about ten o’clock in the morning.
Konnichiwa literally means “as for today." It is used from about ten o’clock in the morning until dusk.
Kombanwa means "good evening" and is used in the same way as its English translation.
2.
Although Americans
customarily follow a
greeting by
"how are
you," the Japanese
equivalent, o-genki desu
ka, is
not used by persons
meeting for the
first time. The phrase is
used by friends
who have not
seen each other
for some time.
3. The ending -san is added to a person’s name. It may usually be translated as “Mr.," "Mrs.," or "Miss." -san is used after a person's first name or last name.
Note that -san shows the speaker's respect for the person he is speaking to or about. The speaker, therefore, never uses -san with his own name. For example, you would call your friend Tanaka-san, but he would refer to himself simply as Tanaka.
4. The expression hajimemashite literally means "meeting you for the first time." It should be used only when introducing yourself or being introduced.
5.
Each time
you greet someone
in
ohayō
gozaimasu,
konnichiwa,
kombanwa,
and each time you say, in introductions,
hajimemashite,
dōzo
yoroshiku,
kochira
koso,
dewa
mata / jā mata,
you should nod your head. Your Japanese acquaintance may bow to you more ceremoniously, bending from the waist.
6. At a party or on the street, when you recognize at a distance someone you know, you should first nod as a gesture of recognition. As you approach or are approached by the person, you greet him. Generally, one does not shout and greet another person at a distance in Japan, except in some intimate groups, such as young students.