How To Say “Hi” in Japanese (Go Beyond Konnichiwa!)

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Hi! Hey! What’s up? Depending on who we’re talking to, we may choose to greet them with a word other than “hello.” Among friends, using “hello” as a greeting can seem formal, but saying “What’s up?” to your boss’s boss can come off as too familiar. The same is true for Japanese! Konnichiwa (こんにちは) is how you say “hello,” but how do you say “hi” in Japanese? 

Broaden your Japanese words for greeting people with these nine different ways to say “hello” in Japanese. It’s true that konnichiwa is used and it’s certainly important. When you learn Japanese with Rosetta Stone, you’ll see it in your very first lesson. But let’s go beyond konnichiwa and see what other options you can use.

Say hello in Japanese like a native speaker

Learning how to speak and act politely is important when picking up a new language. Oftentimes, this goes hand-in-hand with learning greetings. For Japanese greetings, this means konnichiwa will probably be the first word introduced for “hello.” 

However, you are more likely to hear a wider variety of greetings. The Japanese language has three main levels of formality: casual, formal, and honorific. All three use slightly different verb conjugations and have nuanced layers of social cues, like how deep to bow, knowing who “commands” more respect (like a boss), or whether all notions of formality can be set aside. 

The first impression you make—how you greet the other person—can dictate how the conversation flows, so it’s important to consider which word to use to say hi.

List of ways to say “hi” in Japanese

Choosing which word to use to greet friends, coworkers, or acquaintances in Japanese requires knowing the social context. Here are nine different options for you to use!

1. Konnichiwa! (こんにちは！) 

Use: General way to say “hello”

The traditional “konnichiwa” is a neutral way to say “hello” or “good afternoon.” It can be used to greet coworkers, teachers, friends, family…pretty much anyone! However, there are many other situational greetings that may be used instead of a simple “hello,” making konnichiwa less common than one would think. 

When written with kanji (漢字, Chinese characters), konnichiwa (今日は) literally translates to “as for today.” That means it’s most appropriate to use it during the day—preferably the afternoon. For the morning and evening, it’s better to use an alternative way to say “hello” or a greeting specific to the time of day, such as “good morning.”

If “konnichiwa” has kanji, should you use them? When choosing how to write “hi” in Japanese, you have three writing systems to choose from. Generally speaking, the Japanese alphabets are used: Hiragana (平仮名) is used for most greetings and katakana (片仮名) for greetings that have foreign language origins. Kanji is only used in more formal situations.

2. Yā! (やあ！)

Use: Casual settings with friends or family

Yā is a casual way to say “hi” in Japanese. It’s often used to greet friends. 

Typically, it’s polite in Japanese to refer to people you don’t know well with their surname rather than their given name combined with an honorific attached to show respect. When using yā, it’s assumed that the situation is casual and that the people involved are close and can forgo formalities. 

If the name of the person being greeted is “Keiko Takeda,” you could greet her in these ways:

• Yā, keiko chan!（やあ、恵子ちゃん！）= Hi, Keiko!
• Konnichiwa, takeda san!（こんにちは、武田さん！）= Hello, Ms. Takeda!

3. Yо̄! (よお！)

Use: Casual settings with friends or family

Yо̄ is very close to yā, with an inclination toward “hey” rather than “hi.” Both can be used by anyone, but yо̄ leans slightly toward the masculine and yā to the feminine. Whichever you choose to use, both are casual and should be used among friends or other people you are close to.

4. Osu! (おす！)

Use: Casual settings with friends (primarily used by men) and martial arts

Osu is on the rougher, more masculine side. Usually, you hear it used by boys and men greeting each other in casual settings. Its origins come from martial arts and the former Japanese navy. The Japanese word for “good morning” is “ohayо̄ gozaimasu,” and this phrase was drastically shortened to create “osu”:

• ohayо̄ gozaimasu (おはようございます）→ ohayо̄ssu（おはよーっす）→ osu（おす）

When written with kanji, osu (押忍) uses the characters for “push” (押) and “endurance” (忍). Particularly when used in a martial arts context, this takes the established greeting to a new level. “Osu” no longer just means “hello” but also expresses a resolve to “push through and endure.”

5. Yahhо̄! (ヤッホー！)

Use: Casual settings with friends (primarily used by women)

Yahhо̄ is a cute way to say hello in Japanese that tends to be linguistically feminine. There are a few theories about its origins. While it does sound like the greeting “yoo-hoo!” in English, the predominant theory is that it comes from the German word johoo, which is historically used by mountaineers to signal their location. Today, juhu is used in German to say “yay!” or—tellingly—“yoo-hoo!”

6. Saikin dо̄? (最近どう？)

Use: Casual way to encourage conversation usually following another word for “hello”

Saying hello to a friend doesn’t always stop at “hi.” You can immediately roll into the conversation as part of the greeting! “Saikin dо̄?” is a shortened version of “Saikin wa dо̄ desu ka?” The message is the same, but the latter is more formal and is closer to asking, “How have you been doing lately?”

• Yā, yuki! Saikin dо̄?（やあ、ゆき！最近どう？) = Hey, Yuki! How’re things?
• Konnichiwa, yamada san! Saikin wa dо̄ desu ka?（こんにちは、山田さん！最近はどうですか？）= Hello, Ms. Yamada! How have you been?

7. Dо̄mo! (どうも！)

Use: Formal, primarily used toward superiors at work

Dо̄mo is a step above konnichiwa in formality and is primarily used in professional environments. It’s not uncommon for a relationship between an employee and their superior (such as their boss) to be linguistically different in formality. If you were the employee, you’d be expected to be more respectful toward your boss, while your superior is allowed to use more casual language. An interaction in the morning might look like this, with the boss speaking first:

•  Ohayо̄, yamamoto kun!（おはよう、山本君！）= ‘Morning, Yamamoto!
• A, ueno buchо̄! Dо̄mo.（あ、上野部長！どうも。）= Oh, Mr. Ueno! Hello.

It’s important to note that dо̄mo also has other uses. Depending on the context, it can be “thank you” (usually as the longer dо̄mo arigatо̄ or dо̄mo arigatо̄ gozaimasu) or the adverb “quite.”

8. Harо̄! (ハロー！)

Use: Casual settings with friends

Pronounced more similarly to the German “hallo” than the English “hello,” harо̄ is a casual option. Harо̄ has a light-hearted nuance in the same way that native English speakers have when using other languages to say hello for fun. Have you ever heard someone who only speaks English greet friends with “Hola!” in Spanish or “Bonjour!” in French? It’s the same phenomenon! As humans, we share an appreciation for greeting others, no matter what different languages we say hello in.

9. Moshi moshi? (もしもし？)

Use: Standard way to say “hello” when answering the phone

When answering the phone, moshi moshi is the standard way to say “hello” compared to any other options. It comes from the word mо̄su (申す), which is a highly formal way to say “speak.” In a way, moshi moshi is akin to saying, “This is [name] speaking,” prompting the caller to introduce themselves and relay their message. 

It can also be used in casual situations where someone appears to be distracted. If someone is spacing out, you can metaphorically give them a call in the same way you do on the phone:

• Moshi moshi, kikoemasu ka? (もしもし、聞こえますか？）= Hello, can you hear me?  

Learning greetings and more with Rosetta Stone

Reading about greetings on paper is one thing: Putting them into practice is another! With Rosetta Stone Tutoring, you can have conversations with expert native speakers and your fellow Japanese language learners. Greet them with a polite konnichiwa or try out more casual options to say “hi” in the Japanese language.