Good Morning in Japanese: おはようございます (Ohayō Gozaimasu)

Good morning in Japanese: おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu)

Good morning in Japanese is おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu), the polite form you can say to anyone. With friends and family, the short おはよう (ohayō) is enough.

It's written with nine hiragana: お, は, よ, う, ご, ざ, い, ま and す. Tap one to hear it.

A few things are useful to know:

• Here は is read ha. It's part of the word, so it keeps its usual sound. That's different from the は at the end of こんにちは, which is a particle and is read wa.
• The う makes the よ long. You say o-ha-yō. That's why you'll see it spelled ohayō, ohayou or ohayo: all three usually mean the same word (ohayo can also be the clipped おはよ, in the table below).
• The final す is soft. In everyday speech it's often said very lightly, so the greeting can sound like "ohayō gozaimas".

Where it comes from. The etymology dictionary Gogen Yurai Jiten traces おはよう to お早く (o-hayaku), from 早い (はやい, hayai, “early”), as in お早く…ですね, a remark that someone is up or out early. So literally it's close to "you're early". The polite part is ございます (gozaimasu), a very polite way to say "to be". As Genki English puts it, it's the ございます that makes the greeting polite, just as in ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu, “thank you”) (more on that here).

How to write it. The dictionary gives a kanji form, お早うございます, with 早, "early". It also marks the word as usually written in kana. Write it in hiragana.

Ohayō vs ohayō gozaimasu

The long form is polite, the short form is casual, and there are a few even shorter ones:

When you're not sure, use the long form. Said to a teacher or your boss, the short おはよう can sound too familiar.

About おっはー. It became famous in 2000 as the catchphrase of Shingo Mama, a character the SMAP singer Katori Shingo played on Fuji TV's variety show サタ☆スマ (Sata Suma). It shared the grand prize of the 2000 New Words and Buzzwords Awards (新語・流行語大賞) with IT革命. Today it mostly sounds like a playful throwback. The dictionary's main form of this entry is the even shorter おは.

Until what time can you say ohayō gozaimasu?

There's no fixed time. Mynavi News says it's generally used until about 9 or 10 am, and that some people find it odd after 10. Coto Academy says it's common until around noon.

As a rule of thumb, switch to こんにちは (konnichiwa) around mid-morning, and to こんばんは (konbanwa) once it's dark. Before bed, it's おやすみなさい (oyasumi nasai, “good night”). Hello in Japanese explains the daytime ones.

If someone greets you with おはようございます later in the day, don't worry about the clock. Mynavi News suggests answering with the same greeting, whatever the time.

Ohayō gozaimasu at work (even at night)

At many workplaces, おはようございます isn't only a morning word. It's the first greeting of your day or your shift, whatever the time.

Mynavi News describes this custom in TV, convenience stores, hotels and restaurants: places that run around the clock or in shifts, where people start work at all hours. Coto Academy says to say it when you clock in, even for a late-night shift. It also says to greet everyone this way, from the chief to the new intern.

In ordinary offices, it's the sound of the morning. SoraNews24 describes the 15 minutes or so before work starts as full of おはようございます, some shouted and some mumbled.

After that first greeting, colleagues usually switch to お疲れ様 (おつかれさま, otsukaresama, “thank you (for your hard work)”), often as お疲れ様です. It thanks someone for their effort, and it works as a passing hello for the rest of the day.

Where the habit may come from. One popular theory, given by Mynavi News, points to kabuki theatre. Actors who arrived early were greeted with お早いお着きでございます, roughly "you've arrived early", later shortened to おはようございます. That may be why the theatre and TV world uses it at any hour. Mynavi calls this the most likely explanation, but it's still a theory.

How to reply to good morning in Japanese

The simplest reply is the same greeting back. If someone says おはようございます, say おはようございます. If a friend says おはよう, say おはよう.

You can put the person's name and さん (san) first. Coto Academy shows ○○さん、おはよう for a colleague.

If someone senior greets you with the short おはよう, answering with the full おはようございます is the safe choice.

A greeting usually comes with a small bow or a nod of the head. Between friends, a nod or a wave is enough.

Questions about good morning in Japanese

What is ohayou gozaimasu?

Ohayou gozaimasu (おはようございます) means "good morning". It's the polite form, fine with anyone.

How do you say good morning in Japanese politely?

The polite good morning is おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu). The short おはよう is for friends and family.

Is it ohayo or ohayou?

Both are romaji for the same word, おはよう. The よう is a long ō, so the most exact spelling is ohayō.

Can you say ohayou gozaimasu in the afternoon?

Usually not to people you meet in the street: say こんにちは instead. At many workplaces, though, it's the first greeting of a shift at any hour.

How do you greet someone in the morning in Japan?

Say おはようございます with a small bow or nod. With friends and family, おはよう is enough.

How do you reply to ohayou gozaimasu?

Say おはようございます back. To a friend's おはよう, answer おはよう.

How do you write good morning in Japanese?

Good morning is written おはようございます, in hiragana. The kanji form お早うございます exists but is rarely used.

Sources

• Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including its notes that おはようございます is polite and usually written in kana, that おはよ and おはよっす are colloquial, and that おっはー is slang.
• Where おはよう comes from: Gogen Yurai Jiten, おはよう.
• Until what time, the shift custom, answering in kind and the kabuki theory: Mynavi News, 「おはようございます」は何時まで使える? (11 July 2022).
• Around noon, saying it when you clock in, and the name before the greeting: Coto Academy, 16 Basic Japanese Greetings to Know.
• Greetings in offices: SoraNews24, The importance of "aisatsu": Why people shout "Good morning!" in Japanese offices (30 September 2013).
• ございます as the polite part: Genki English, Japanese Greetings.
• おっはー: Daily Sports, list of buzzword of the year winners (2000: おっはー, 慎吾ママ, and IT革命); Japanese Wikipedia, 慎吾ママ (Katori Shingo, Fuji TV's サタ☆スマ, the 2000 grand prize).
• Reviewed by two independent reviews; the points about the cut-off time, the workplace and shift use, the kabuki theory, the tone of おっはー and おは, who says おはよ and おはよっす, the soft final す, answering a senior and bowing are waiting for a native speaker's check.