Greetings & Social Phrases

Casual Japanese greetings, farewells, and social lubricant phrases

Introduction

Formal Japanese greetings are taught in every textbook, but real casual Japanese sounds very different. From おつ (casual goodbye) to よろ (short for よろしく), these are the greetings Japanese people actually use with friends.

This chapter covers casual greetings and social phrases for everyday Japanese life.

Themes

All Japanese Slang in This Chapter (80)

• よろ A casual abbreviation of よろしく, used as a quick 'please' or 'nice to meet you'...
• おはよー A casual, drawn-out version of おはよう (good morning), often used in relaxed or ...
• お疲れ A casual way to say 'good work,' 'thanks for your effort,' or simply a greeti...
• おやすー A casual, abbreviated way to say goodnight, shortened from おやすみ.
• おつかれさまです A polite expression meaning 'thank you for your hard work,' used as a greetin...
• お先 A casual way to say 'I'm heading out first' when leaving before others, short...
• ノシ An emoticon representing a waving hand, used as 'bye-bye' in text-based commu...
• またね A casual way to say 'see you later' or 'bye for now.'
• バイバイ Bye-bye, borrowed from English. A cheerful, casual farewell.
• おかえり Welcome back — said to someone who has just returned home or to a group.
• ただいま I'm back / I'm home — announced upon returning to one's home or group.
• 久しぶり Long time no see — used when meeting someone you haven't seen in a while.
• ひさびさ It's been a while — a casual, softer variant of 久しぶり.
• 元気？ How are you? / You doing okay? — a casual way to check on someone.
• 調子どう？ How's it going? How are things? — a casual check-in on someone's condition or...
• お邪魔します Excuse me for intruding — said when entering someone else's home or personal ...
• 失礼します Excuse me — a polite phrase used when entering or leaving a room, interruptin...
• いただきます Thanks for the food — said before eating as an expression of gratitude.
• ごちそうさま Thanks for the meal — said after eating to express gratitude.
• おめでとー Congratulations — a casual, cheerful way to celebrate someone's achievement o...
• あざっす Thanks — a slangy, ultra-casual abbreviation of ありがとうございます.
• サンキュー Thank you — borrowed from English, used as a casual expression of gratitude.
• サンクス Thanks — from English 'thanks,' a quick casual expression of gratitude.
• ありがとう Thank you — the standard casual expression of gratitude in Japanese.
• すまん Sorry — a casual, masculine apology derived from すみません.
• すみません Excuse me / Sorry / Thank you — a versatile polite expression covering apolog...
• ごめんね Sorry — a soft, friendly apology used between close people.
• メンゴ My bad — a playful, lighthearted slang apology.
• どうも Hey / Thanks / Hi — an incredibly versatile word used as a casual greeting, t...
• ちわ Yo / Hey — a very casual, truncated greeting from こんにちは.
• うぃっす Sup / Hey — a very casual bro-style greeting or acknowledgment.
• やっほー Yoo-hoo, hey there — a cheerful, playful greeting.
• ヤッホー Hey there — the katakana version of やっほー, with a cute/playful emphasis.
• はろー Hello — a casual Japanese rendering of English 'hello.'
• こんちゃ Hiya — a cutesy, abbreviated version of こんにちは.
• お世話になっております Thank you for your continued support — the standard opening line in Japanese ...
• よろしくお願いします Please take care of it / Nice to meet you / I look forward to working with yo...
• かしこまりました Certainly / Understood — a very formal, humble acknowledgment used primarily ...
• ういっす Yo / Roger — a casual greeting or acknowledgment, variant spelling of うぃっす.
• らじゃ Roger — a playful way to say 'understood' or 'got it,' from English 'roger.'
• りょうかい A casual way to say 'roger,' 'understood,' or 'got it' — the go-to acknowledg...
• なるほど An expression meaning 'I see,' 'that makes sense,' or 'ah, now I understand' ...
• だよね A conversational tag meaning 'right?' or 'I know, right?' — used to seek agre...
• お疲れ様でした A polite expression meaning 'thank you for your hard work' or 'good job today...
• いってきます A set phrase meaning 'I'm heading out' or 'I'll go and come back,' said when ...
• いってらっしゃい A set response meaning 'have a good day' or 'take care and come back safely,'...
• お大事に A caring expression meaning 'take care of yourself' or 'get well soon,' said ...
• 無理しないでね A caring phrase meaning 'don't push yourself too hard' or 'don't overdo it,' ...
• 頑張って An encouraging expression meaning 'do your best,' 'good luck,' or 'hang in th...
• 応援してる A supportive expression meaning 'I'm rooting for you' or 'I'm cheering you on...
• ファイト An encouraging exclamation meaning 'you can do it!' or 'go for it!' — borrowe...
• おひさ A casual abbreviation of お久しぶり, meaning 'long time no see' — breezy and frien...
• よろしくね A casual way to say 'nice to meet you,' 'let's get along,' or 'I'm counting o...
• よろです A semi-casual abbreviation of よろしくお願いします, meaning 'please and thanks' or 'loo...
• お待たせ A casual way to say 'sorry for the wait' or 'thanks for waiting' — used when ...
• 気にしないで A reassuring phrase meaning 'don't worry about it' or 'never mind' — used to ...
• 大丈夫 An ultra-versatile word meaning 'it's fine,' 'I'm okay,' 'no problem,' or eve...
• 全然大丈夫 An emphatic reassurance meaning 'totally fine' or 'no problem at all' — stron...
• いえいえ A humble deflection meaning 'no no' or 'don't mention it' — used to modestly ...
• とんでもないです A polite deflection meaning 'not at all' or 'you're too kind' — used to humbl...
• こちらこそ A reciprocal expression meaning 'likewise,' 'same to you,' or 'I should be th...
• 助かります A grateful expression meaning 'that helps a lot' or 'I really appreciate it' ...
• 恐れ入ります A very polite expression meaning 'I'm sorry to trouble you' or 'thank you for...
• 恐縮です A highly formal expression meaning 'I'm much obliged' or 'I feel unworthy of ...
• おっす A very casual masculine greeting meaning 'hey' or 'yo' — punchy and energetic.
• おつおつ A playful doubling of おつ (short for おつかれ), used as a cute way to say 'good wo...
• おは A super-short texting abbreviation of おはよう, meaning 'morning' or 'mornin'' — ...
• ちーっす A very casual, slurred greeting meaning 'hey' or ''sup' — a lazy version of こ...
• うーっす An extremely casual, drawn-out greeting meaning 'heyyy' or 'yo' — the laziest...
• どーも An ultra-flexible casual greeting that can mean 'hey,' 'thanks,' 'hi,' or 'so...
• ばいちゃ A cute abbreviation of バイバイ meaning 'bye-bye' — playful and popular in textin...
• またよろ A super-casual farewell meaning 'see you again, looking forward to it' — comb...
• お疲れっす A slangy, contracted form of お疲れ様です meaning 'good work' — casual but retainin...
• お元気で A warm farewell meaning 'take care' or 'stay well' — used when parting from s...
• はじめまして The standard self-introduction phrase meaning 'nice to meet you' — now also u...
• おっすおっす A doubled, energetic version of おっす meaning 'hey hey!' — a lively casual gree...
• おかー A lazy, drawn-out abbreviation of おかえり meaning 'welcome back' — used in chat ...
• ただいまー A casual, elongated version of ただいま meaning 'I'm home!' — also used when retu...
• おつかれ The go-to peer-level farewell meaning 'good work' or 'see ya' — shorter and m...
• 参上 A dramatic exclamation meaning 'I have arrived!' or 'I'm here!' — used humoro...