How to Say ‘Good morning, Mr. Tanaka.’ in Japanese
田中さん、おはようございます。
tanaka san ohayou gozai masu
[tah-nah-kah san oh-hah-yoh goh-zah-ee mahs]
💬 Usage Tip: Japanese often puts the person's name first, then the greeting: 田中さん、ありがとうございます "Thank you, Mr. Tanaka."
Phrase Breakdown
田中さん、
tanaka san
Mr./Ms. Tanaka,
The family name Tanaka plus the polite title さん (san). Use it when addressing someone politely.
田中さん、こんにちは。
Hello, Mr. Tanaka.
Words in this phrase
田中
tanaka
[tah-nah-kah]
Tanaka (name)
Part of the school name being stated clearly on the phone.
田中小学校です。
This is Tanaka Elementary School.
さん
san
[san]
Mr.; Ms.; polite suffix
A polite suffix added to a person's name or role.
お医者さんが来ました。
The doctor came.
おはようございます。
ohayou gozai masu
Good morning.
A polite morning greeting. Keep the long 'o' in 'ohayou'. The final 'su' is soft.
みなさん、おはようございます。
Good morning, everyone.
Words in this phrase
おはよう
ohayou
[oh-hah-yoh]
good morning
A common morning greeting in Japanese.
先生、おはようございます。
Good morning, teacher.
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
[mahs]
polite verb ending
A standard polite ending added to verbs, often used in customer service and formal speech.
予約を確認し ます。
I will confirm the reservation.
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