How to Say ‘Good morning.’ in Japanese
おはようございます。
ohayou gozai masu
[ohah-yoh goh-zah-ee mahss]
💬 Usage Tip: [おはようございます] is the standard polite morning greeting. Very useful for starting a kitchen shift professionally.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Even if everyone is busy, saying [おはようございます] clearly is part of good workplace manners in Japan.
Phrase Breakdown
おはよう
ohayou
[ohah-yoh]
good morning
The casual greeting part of the full polite morning expression.
先輩におはようございますと言う前に、おはようの部分を覚えます。
Before saying ohayou gozaimasu to a senior coworker, learn the ohayou part.
ございます
gozai masu
polite auxiliary used in greetings
Adds politeness and makes the greeting formal and respectful.
おはようございます。
Good morning.
Words in this phrase
ござい
gozai
[goh-zah-ee]
to be; to exist (polite part)
This part makes the greeting more formal and polite.
おはようございますの中でございは丁寧さを出します。
In ohayou gozaimasu, gozai adds politeness.
ます
masu
[mahss]
polite verb ending
A polite ending that completes the formal greeting.
おはようございますのますで丁寧な言い方になります。
The masu in ohayou gozaimasu makes it a polite expression.
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