Goodbye in Japanese: さようなら (Sayonara) and 25 Other Ways to Say Bye

Goodbye in Japanese: さようなら (sayonara)

Goodbye in Japanese is さようなら (sayōnara, “farewell”), but in everyday life many people say something lighter: じゃあね (jā ne) or またね (mata ne) ("see you") with friends, and 失礼します (しつれいします, shitsurei shimasu) ("excuse me") when they need to be polite. さようなら is correct and polite, but it can sound final, like a goodbye to someone you may not see again soon.

It's written with five hiragana: さ, よ, う, な and ら. The う makes the よ long, so you say sa-yō-na-ra. English spells it "sayonara", without the long vowel. The dictionary gives it kanji (左様なら), but marks the word as usually written in kana.

There's also a shorter form, さよなら (sayonara), which is also written サヨナラ in katakana, for style: in titles, or in baseball (below).

Where it comes from. さようなら is a shortened form of さようならば, a conjunction that meant "if that is so, then" or "well then". It was first used together with other parting words, such as ごきげんよう (gokigen yō, “adieu”): a story from 1788 has the line 「さやうなら、御きげんよふ」, in the old spelling. In the late Edo period, the era that ended in 1868, it became a goodbye on its own.

Which goodbye to use: a quick guide

Pick the goodbye by who you're with and where you're going. Each one is explained, with its reading, further down.

Sayonara meaning: why it can sound final

Literally, sayonara means "if that's how it is, then". You accept that the moment to part has come.

The dictionary shows how strongly Japanese links the word with endings. Before a noun, さよなら (sayonara, “farewell (performance, party, etc.)”) means "farewell", "final" or "last": a farewell party, a last performance. In baseball, a サヨナラホームラン (sayonara hōmuran, “game-ending home run”) is a home run that wins and ends the game.

That's why many speakers find さようなら heavy for someone they'll see tomorrow. Wiktionary's usage note says it has strong connotations of finality, so it isn't used when leaving your own home unless you don't plan to come back for a long time. In 2020, Mynavi News reported on a widely shared post: the writer had noticed they no longer said さようなら at all. At work they used the office goodbyes below, and with friends they said またね. Many replies agreed that the word feels heavy, and some called it a parting forever. Others pointed out that it's still common at school.

Because of that feeling, さようなら said to a boyfriend or girlfriend could sound like a breakup.

So it's a feeling many people share, not a rule, and さようなら isn't rude. A student from abroad asked Professor Michinao Morohoshi of Kokugakuin University how to say goodbye to teachers and superiors. He wrote that じゃあね and バイバイ can't take a respectful form, and that さようなら is the safe choice: his word is 無難 (ぶなん, bunan, “safe (e.g. choice)”). When even that doesn't feel respectful enough, for example as you leave a company after a job interview, he suggests 「（それではこれで）失礼させていただきます」.

You'll still hear さようなら often at school at the end of the day, and in songs and films.

Bye in Japanese: じゃあね (jā ne), またね (mata ne), バイバイ (baibai)

With friends and family, these are the goodbyes you'll hear most, from "see you" to "see you tomorrow":

Ja mata ne puts two of them together: じゃあ (jā, “then”) plus またね, so じゃあ、またね means "well, see you". じゃあ itself is では (de wa, “then”) run together, and じゃあね is じゃあ plus the little particle ね.

バイバイ is written in katakana, バ and イ, because it comes from English. Professor Morohoshi notes that people often feel it as a word for small children, though you'll hear it between adult friends too.

Professor Morohoshi also points out that じゃあね and バイバイ have no respectful form, so keep them for friends, family and people your own age. The polite version of じゃあ is では or それでは: ではまた, or それでは、失礼します (below). また明日 and また来週 are neutral, so you'll also hear them with teachers.

Polite goodbye: 失礼します (shitsurei shimasu)

失礼します (しつれいします, shitsurei shimasu, “excuse me”) is the polite way to leave. Its first word is 失礼 (しつれい, shitsurei, “discourtesy”), so you're excusing yourself for going. The dictionary also gives 失礼 the meanings "goodbye" and "to leave". Use it when you leave a teacher's office, a meeting, a client or a superior. Its kanji: 失 and 礼.

You'll also hear it when someone enters a room or interrupts: it's an "excuse me" as much as a goodbye.

It often starts with それでは (sore de wa, “bye then”): それでは、失礼します is a full, polite goodbye.

A few more polite ways to part:

• In writing. ではまた (dewa mata) means "see you later", and the dictionary also glosses it "sincerely": it's a common way to end a message.
• After a meal or a service. Staff will say ありがとうございました (arigatō gozaimashita, “thank you”) as you leave: it's the past form of thank you. At a restaurant, customers often answer ごちそうさまでした (gochisōsama deshita, “thank you for the meal”). At a hairdresser or a small shop, ありがとうございました is common from the customer too.
• With even more respect. Professor Morohoshi suggests 失礼させていただきます, for example after それではこれで.
• Old-fashioned. ごきげんよう, the word さようなら once came with, is still in the dictionary as "farewell". To many speakers today it sounds formal or old-fashioned.

Goodbye at work: お先に失礼します and お疲れ様でした

Japanese offices have their own goodbye pair.

When you leave before your colleagues, you say お先に失礼します (おさきにしつれいします, osaki ni shitsurei shimasu, “pardon me for leaving (first)”). The short form is お先に (おさきに, osaki ni, “pardon me for leaving (before you)”). Kanji: 先, "before".

Colleagues answer with お疲れ様 (おつかれさま, otsukaresama, “see you”), usually as お疲れ様でした or お疲れ様です. The Digital Daijisen dictionary describes お疲れ様 as a word that thanks someone for their effort, also used at work to greet people who are going home first. Kanji: 疲 ("tired") and 様. Between close colleagues it's often shortened to お疲れ (おつかれ, otsukare, “see you”).

Don't mix it up with ご苦労様 (ごくろうさま, gokurōsama, “thank you (for your hard work)”). Digital Daijisen describes ご苦労様 as a word for superiors to say to staff, and お疲れ様 as the one for colleagues and superiors. A government survey shows the split:

The figures are from the Agency for Cultural Affairs' survey on the Japanese language for the 2005 fiscal year, as quoted in Digital Daijisen. To your boss, say お疲れ様でした.

When you leave a job for good, a common goodbye is お世話になりました, "thank you for everything" (see the table further down).

Leaving home: いってきます and いってらっしゃい

Families don't say さようなら when someone goes out for the day, because they're coming back. They use a pair instead:

• The person leaving says いってきます (ittekimasu, “I'm off (and will be back later)”): "I'm off, and I'll be back".
• The person staying answers いってらっしゃい (itterasshai, “have a good day”): "have a good day" or "take care". Digital Daijisen gives exactly this exchange as the greeting for sending someone off.

The kanji in 行ってきます is 行, "go". A more polite version is いってまいります (ittemairimasu). It may be used, for example, when you step out of the office on an errand.

When you come back, you say ただいま (tadaima) and the family says お帰りなさい (おかえりなさい, okaeri nasai): see Hello in Japanese for that pair. You can practise all four in the daily life quiz.

Goodbye on the phone

もしもし (moshi moshi, “hello (e.g. on phone)”) only opens a call: it isn't a goodbye (more on it here).

To end a polite call, それでは、失礼します is common. In business calls you'll also hear 失礼いたします, a humbler way to say the same thing. Friends just say じゃあね or またね before they hang up.

A business manners column by MediaVoice says the person who made the call usually hangs up first. When you've called a superior or a customer, though, you don't hang up straight away: you wait a moment for them. Treat this as a common habit, not a fixed rule.

Take care, good night and long goodbyes

Some goodbyes depend on the moment:

お元気で is a politer form of 元気でね, for the same long partings.

When you leave someone's home, the usual goodbye is the past form of お邪魔します: お邪魔しました.

A few goodbyes sound dramatic, old or rough:

If you're looking for the "coolest" goodbye, さらば or あばよ is what a film hero might say, but in real life they can sound odd or rude. For a cute goodbye, バイバイ or またね is the usual choice.

How to answer a goodbye

Most of the time, you say the same thing back. If a friend says またね, say またね. If someone says じゃあね, answer じゃあね or またね. If a teacher says さようなら, say さようなら.

Some goodbyes have their own answer:

• いってきます is answered with いってらっしゃい.
• お先に失礼します is usually answered with お疲れ様でした.
• When someone leaves a room with 失礼します, a nod is often enough. At work, お疲れ様でした fits.

A goodbye often comes with a small bow or a nod. Between friends, a wave is enough.

Questions about goodbye in Japanese

What does sayonara mean?

Sayonara (さようなら) means "goodbye" or "farewell". Literally, it means "if that is so, then", from the older さようならば.

Is sayonara Japanese or Spanish?

Sayonara is Japanese. English borrowed it in the 1800s: Dictionary.com dates the first English records to 1860 to 1865, and the Online Etymology Dictionary to 1875.

Is it sayonara or jaane?

Both are goodbyes, for different people. さようなら is the general, slightly formal goodbye, and じゃあね is the casual one for friends.

What does mata ne mean?

Mata ne (またね) means "see you" and is the everyday goodbye between friends.

What does ja mata ne mean?

Ja mata ne (じゃあ、またね) means "well, see you". It's じゃあ ("well then") plus またね ("see you").

How do you say see you tomorrow in Japanese?

See you tomorrow is また明日 (mata ashita). It works with friends, classmates and colleagues.

Is sayonara a breakup word?

Sayonara isn't only a breakup word, but it can sound like one. Many people feel it's a goodbye for a long or final parting, so with someone you'll see again soon, またね or じゃあね sounds warmer.

Is it polite to say sayonara?

Yes, sayonara is polite and isn't rude, but it can sound final. At work, お先に失礼します or お疲れ様でした usually fits better.

What can I say instead of sayonara?

Say またね or じゃあね to friends, 失礼します to be polite, お疲れ様でした at work and いってきます when you leave home.

How do you politely say bye in Japanese?

The polite goodbye is 失礼します, or それでは、失礼します. With a teacher, さようなら is also safe. When you leave work before your boss, say お先に失礼します.

What do Japanese people say when they are leaving?

It depends on where they're leaving. From home it's いってきます, from work お先に失礼します, from a room or a meeting 失礼します, and to friends じゃあね or またね.

Sources

• Readings and meanings: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including its notes that じゃあね is familiar, バイバイ colloquial and またな male speech, and the さよなら sense "final; last".
• Where さようなら comes from: Nihon Kokugo Daijiten on Kotobank, さようなら; JapanKnowledge, 日本語、どうでしょう？ 「さようなら」.
• Which goodbye to use with superiors: Michinao Morohoshi, Kokugakuin University, 目上の人と別れるときに何と挨拶をすればよいでしょうか？ (2015).
• お疲れ様, ご苦労様 and the 2005 survey: Digital Daijisen on Kotobank, お疲れ様. いってらっしゃい: Digital Daijisen on Kotobank, 行ってらっしゃい.
• The feeling of finality: Wiktionary, さようなら (usage note); Mynavi News (16 November 2020).
• Ending a phone call: MediaVoice, 「失礼します」は誰が言う？電話の切り方のマナーを解説！.
• Sayonara in English: Dictionary.com; Online Etymology Dictionary.
• Reviewed by two independent reviews; the points about how often さようなら is said today, school goodbyes, phone manners, the office reply pair, restaurant and shop goodbyes, お邪魔しました, お元気で, いってまいります and the tone of バイバイ, ごきげんよう, さらば and あばよ are waiting for a native speaker's check.