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- "こんにちは"
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1755
The は here is indeed the grammatical particle, and is thus pronounced /wa/. This is because this "word" is essentially a shortened phrase. See:
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E4%BB%8A%E6%97%A5%E3%81%AF
It is not usually written with kanji in my experience (今日は) as that would likely be interpreted as きょうは, or "today…" Even if context would probably leave it unambiguous, the form of the word can matter to how you interpret it. There are many words that are almost never written in kanji for various reasons.
I think it's very nice, though, that in Japanese "good day" is written the same as "today". Kind of implies that every day is good. Same thing with 明日 「あした」 "tomorrow", that is written as "bright day". I really like how positive is this language. :-)
What about bonjour? In french it means good day in direct translation too
"Bonjour" literally breaks down into "good day", yes, but it is used as "hello".
"こんにち は" literally breaks down into "as for this day..."
こん = this
にち = day
は = topic particle
Yeah but the long form of "Bonjour" (that nobody says nowadays), is "Je vous souhaite le bon jour" (I wish you a good day)
- 616
こんにちは is short for "今日（こんにち）はご機嫌（きげん）いかがですか" or "今日はお天気（てんき）がいいですね" How are you today? or Good weather today.
I was a Japanese tutor in college hired by my Japanese professor and we always wrote Konnichiwa 今日は。Kyou wa was written the same way. Context is imperative in reading Japanese kanji.
The word in Japanese is さようなら, which in Romaji is sayounara but otherwise "sayonara". The う functions to show that the お sound is long, because just like in English, long /o/ diphthongizes to /oʊ/.
Be aware though that さようなら is a very somber, long-term "farewell" and not just a casual "good-bye".
Is konnichiwa formal or informal? What would be used to say "hey"? And what word is the best when talking to your boss or a stranger
- 616
それでは失礼（しつれい）します。 is the normal goodbye in the polite form.
それでは is the contracted form of the above.
それじゃ or じゃあ is the informal version of the contracted form.
There are a few, depending on what level of formality/informality is appropriate.
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/japanese/how-to-say-goodbye-in-japanese/
https://www.fluentin3months.com/goodbye-in-japanese/
https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/how-to-speak-japanese/live-seminar/how-to-say-goodbye-in-japanese/
- 1755
I did mention context being important; and that's really key here, because in the context of real, everyday Japanese material primarily made by and for Japanese people, it seems to usually be written in kana. Not textbooks or classrooms for foreigners (textbook Japanese doesn't exactly have a reputation for producing natural-language users), but the language as native users actually use it. IMEs even bring it up in kana first.
Why might this be? So that the reader doesn't stumble halfway through a sentence. It doesn't matter what the context is, if upon seeing the kanji the first thing you read instinctively is きょう because of the associations the brain makes, before there is even time to parse the rest of the sentence. I can find plenty of comments online by Japaneses people that give similar explanations.
Just to illustrate, consider "I read…".
It doesn't matter what comes after it, there's a fair chance that the reader will misinterpret it, particularly at the beginning of a sentence, which is where we'll usually find 今日は.
More formal or dated settings may use the kanji more, but they're possibly also using a different register altogether, with different pronunciations. Nobody is saying that it doesn't occur as kanji, but it does not appear to be usual in the current day, which just happens to align with my experiences.
I've even seen some people state that they feel that as a greeting, it's so far removed from its origins, that it doesn't feel right to them to use kanji for it. This isn't unlike how "goodbye" is so far removed from "God be with you".
は used in this context is a grammar particle. It is not interchangeable with わ, which is not a grammar particle.
The particle は being pronounced "wa" is a historical quirk. It is pronounced "ha" when it is part of a word.
yes you are right. the Kon just refers to the present day or "today"
konnichi wa "this day" but used as a greeting "good afternoon or good day"
what would be the correct hiragana and romanji translation for good evening and good afternoon?
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Basic_Japanese_greetings
Although I think you mean "transliteration". The translation of おはよう is "good morning". The transliteration of おはよう is "ohayou".
As far as I know, こんばんは is "good evening," こんにちは is "good afternoon," and おはいよ is "good morning." Then theres also おやすみなさい which is "good night," but I think thats really only for if the person you're talking to is going to sleep not for just saying it like saying goodbye at the end of the day, that should be こんばんは。At least thats what I was led to believe, please correct me if i'm wrong.
- 616
Mostly right.
Good morning is おはよう
Good night おやすみなさい and can be a goodbye if it is late in the evening e.g. after 9pm.
こんばんは cannot be a goodbye. It is a hello when you see people in the evening.
When I translated "good night", it said it was "おやすみ", is that also correct? If not, then what's it used for?
What do people mean when they say it is used as "the particle" is that the same as a suffix in English or literally just as the end of the word. So if i see 'ha' at the end of a word then I should pronounce it as 'wa'
Japanese has grammatical particles that English just does not have. They are used to indicate what role the previous phrase plays in the sentence. https://nihongoichiban.com/home/japanese-grammar-particles/ They are not word suffixes and should be written separately.
just to get clear konichiwa is good afternoon (not literally hello) and is just one of the ways to greet someone, if you are saying good morning or good evening it is ohio and konbanwa(this is not the romaji for the three greetings though, i haven't got to that.
http://www.japaneseprofessor.com/lessons/beginning/greetings-and-other-expressions/
こんにちは literally means "today" (or super-literally, "As for today..."). But its colloquial use is equivalent to the English "hello".
こん = this
にち = day
は = (topic particle)
おはよう literally means "early". But its colloquial use is equivalent to the English "good morning".
こんばんは literally means "this evening" (or super-literally, "As for this evening...") But its colloquial use is equivalent to the English "good evening".
こん = this
ばん = evening
は = (topic particle)
Pretty much. Think of it as a greeting you only use in the afternoon. They say "konnichi wa", we say "hello" or "good afternoon". They say "konban wa", we say "hello" or "good evening". They say "ohaiou", we say "hello" or "good morning".
when は is used as a grammar particle doesn't it have to be separate?
Japanese writing does not usually put space between words. Also, typical Japanese writing would have the こんにち part in kanji as 今日.
"Good morning" should also be accepted. I work in a Japanese company and we greet each other every morning with this expression こんにちは
- 616
It was.the opposite for me. When I started バイト (part time job) in a canteen 10 years ago, I used こんにちは when I started work on my afternoon shift. I was told that even in the evening, when I start work, I should use おはようございます.
The romaji of おはようございます is "ohayou gozaimasu".
お = O
は = Ha
よ = Yo
う = U
ご = Go
ざ = Za
い = I
ま = Ma
す = Su
http://www.neverup.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/katakana-hiragana-chart-desktop.jpg
I'm new to Japanese and have a question: Why is there a double "n" sound? Like, んに That and the 'wa' sound at the end instead of 'ha' in all the anime and such... maybe I'm just hearing it wrong?
Thanks!
No, you're hearing it correctly.
Sound length makes a difference in Japanese:
ほし = star
ほしい = want
Although in this case it's because of how the phrase breaks down:
こん = this
にち = day
は = topic marker
As for は, that's just a historical quirk, a little bit like the wonky spelling you find in English. When it's part of a word, は is pronounced "ha", but when it's a grammar particle, it's pronounce "wa". The grammar particle is never written わ, that's for words only.
- 218
I grew up in japan and we never used "konichiwa" to say "hello".. "konichiwa" was always "good afternoon", so if you say it to someone at night or in the morning, theyre gonna look at you weird. Youve learned "ohaiyo" for good morning and "konbanwa" for good evening.. the reason you havent learned "good afternoon" is because theyre using it for "hello". When youre out and about in informal situations, people say "osu" for "hello".
Duolingo is based in the USA and focuses on Standard American English. The course contributors do occasionally take suggestions for alternate translations, but of course they cannot be expected to include or even be aware of every single variation from all over the world.
So many sites have been telling me こんにちは means 'Good Evening' and then other sites are telling me it means hello.
I am confusion
Translation is more about context and usage than it is about what it literally breaks down as.
こんにちは literally breaks down as
こん = this
にち = day
は = (topic marker)
or "As for this day..." but the best colloquial translation is "good day", "good afternoon", or "hello".
"Good evening" is こんばんは, or
こん = this
ばん = evening
は = (topic marker)
or "As for this evening..." but the best colloquial translation is "good evening" or "hello".
That sounds like a glitch. Next time you encounter that, flag it and report a problem with the audio.
Why is good morning wrong ? It says good evening. Konbanwa is good evening
Essentially, a particle is a tiny bit of grammar that really isn't a full-fledged word by itself, but gets tacked onto the end of phrases to let you know what's going on.
Usually, は is pronounced "ha", but when it functions as the topic particle it's pronounced "wa".
Marking something as the topic is not the same as marking it as the subject. Think of the topic marker as roughly the equivalent of "As for..." Ending a sentence with カ makes it a question.
https://nihongoichiban.com/home/japanese-grammar-particles/
As a greeting, こんにちは literally means "today" (or super-literally, "As for today...").
