How to Say ‘Good morning’ in Japanese
おはようございます
ohayou gozai masu
[oh-ha-yoh goh-zah-ee mahss]
💬 Usage Tip: Drop ございます and you get casual おはよう (ohayō), fine for friends and family.
🇯🇵 In Japan: At many workplaces, especially restaurants and TV, おはようございます is the first greeting of a shift even in the evening.
Phrase Breakdown
おはよう
ohayou
[oh-ha-yoh]
good morning
A casual morning greeting used with friends, family, or close coworkers.
朝、友だちにおはようと言いました。
In the morning, I said "good morning" to my friend.
ございます
gozai masu
(polite ending)
A polite ending that makes the greeting formal. Say 'go-za-i-ma-su'. The final 'u' is very soft, almost 'go-zai-mas'.
おめでとうございます。
Congratulations.
Words in this phrase
ござい
gozai
[goh-zah-ee]
to be; to exist (polite part of expression)
A polite verb stem used in set phrases like greetings to sound respectful.
あいさつでは、ございをていねいに言います。
In greetings, you say gozai politely.
ます
masu
[mahss]
polite verb ending
A polite ending attached to verbs to make speech more formal.
毎朝、先生にあいさつします。
Every morning, I greet my teacher.
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