In this lesson you will learn the daily greetings Japanese people exchange with neighbors and acquaintances — including weather-related small talk, common set phrases for leaving and returning home, and how to gracefully close an encounter. You will also learn the names of months and dates in Japanese.

Dialogues (会話)

Situation 1 — Afternoon greeting on the street

Mr. Norton sees a next-door neighbor walking toward him near his apartment.

Romaji	English
Nooton: Konnichiwa.	Good afternoon.
Nihonjin: Konnichiwa.	Good afternoon.
Nooton: Kyoo wa ii otenki desu ne.	It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?
Nihonjin: Hontoo ni ii otenki desu ne.	Yes, it really is.

Situation 2 — Morning greeting with a shopkeeper

A storekeeper greets Mrs. Gordon on a rainy morning.

Romaji	English
Nihonjin: Aa, Goodon-san no okusan, ohayoo gozaimasu.	Oh, Mrs. Gordon, good morning.
Goodon: Ohayoo gozaimasu.	Good morning.
Nihonjin: Iya na otenki desu ne.	Nasty weather, isn’t it?
Goodon: Soo desu ne.	Yes, it is.
Nihonjin: Dokoka e odekake desu ka?	Are you going out somewhere?
Goodon: Ee, chotto…	Yes, just a bit…
Nihonjin: Jaa, mata, gomen kudasai.	Well, I’ll see you. Bye.
Goodon: Itte (i)rasshai.	Good-bye. (lit., Go and come back.)

Situation 3 — Evening greeting near home

Mr. Bishop walks home from a subway station when a neighborhood shopkeeper sees him.

Romaji	English
Nihonjin: Konbanwa.	Good evening.
Bishoppu: Konbanwa.	Good evening.
Nihonjin: Ima okaeri desu ka?	Are you returning home now?
Bishoppu: Ee.	Yes.
Nihonjin: Ja, oyasumi nasai.	Well, good night.
Bishoppu: Oyasumi nasai.	Good night.

Situation 4 — Leaving children with a babysitter

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson leave their children with babysitter Michiko.

Romaji	English
Neruson: Jaa, kodomo-tachi (o) onegai shimasu.	Well, please look after the children.
Michiko: Hai. Itte (i)rasshai.	Certainly. Bye.
Neruson: Itte mairimasu.	See you later. (lit., I go and come back.)
(Later, returning home)
Neruson: Tadaima.	We’re home.
Michiko: Okaeri nasai.	Welcome back.
Neruson: Kodomo-tachi wa?	How are the children?
Michiko: Chotto mae ni nemashita.	They went to sleep a little while ago.

Key Vocabulary (語彙)

Greetings and Set Phrases

Romaji	English	Kana
kyoo	today	きょう
(o)tenki	weather	（お）てんき
hontoo ni	truly, really	ほんとうに
iya (na)	nasty, unpleasant	いや（な）
dokoka	somewhere	どこか
odekake desu (ka)	going out? (polite)	おでかけです（か）
gomen kudasai	excuse me; good-bye	ごめんください
itte (i)rasshai	go safely (said by the one staying)	いって（い）らっしゃい
itte mairimasu	I’m going out (said by the one leaving)	いってまいります
okaeri desu ka	are you going home? (polite)	おかえりですか
jaa, mata	so long, see you again	じゃあ、また
oyasumi nasai	good night	おやすみなさい
tadaima	I’m back	ただいま
okaeri nasai	welcome home	おかえりなさい
kodomo-tachi	children	こどもたち
chotto mae ni	a little while ago	ちょっとまえに
nemashita	went to sleep (past of nemasu)	ねました

Weather Words

Romaji	English	Kana
atsui	hot	あつい
samui	cold	さむい
atatakai	warm	あたたかい
suzushii	cool	すずしい
omoi	heavy	おもい
muzukashii	difficult	むずかしい

Seasons

Romaji	English	Kana
haru	spring	はる
natsu	summer	なつ
aki	fall	あき
fuyu	winter	ふゆ
tsuyu	rainy season	つゆ

Grammar & Usage Notes

Weather Expressions as Greetings

After greetings like Ohayoo gozaimasu or Konnichiwa, Japanese people frequently mention the weather. These should be taken as a greeting rather than a literal weather report.

Common weather greetings follow the pattern: Kyoo wa (weather word) desu ne.

Japanese	English
Kyoo wa atsui desu ne.	It’s hot today, isn’t it?
Samui desu ne.	It’s cold, isn’t it?
Ii otenki desu ne.	Nice weather, isn’t it?
Iya na otenki desu ne.	Awful weather, isn’t it?

Responses are usually affirmative:

Simple repetition: Atsui desu ne. (Yes, it is hot.)
Agreement: Soo desu ne. (That is so, isn’t it?)
Emphasis: Hontoo desu ne. (That’s true, isn’t it?)

”Where are you going?” as a Greeting

Neighbors may ask Dokoka e odekake desu ka? (Are you going out somewhere?) as a casual greeting, not a literal inquiry. The typical response is:

Ee, chotto (soko made). — Yes, just over there.

Similarly, Ima okaeri desu ka? (Are you coming home now?) can be answered simply with Ee (Yes).

Set Expressions for Leaving and Returning Home

Who	Leaving	Returning
Person going out	Itte mairimasu / Itte kimasu	Tadaima
Person staying behind	Itte (i)rasshai	Okaeri nasai

These are fixed expressions used among family members and close neighbors.

Closing an Encounter

To end a conversation gracefully:

Jaa, mata. — Well, see you again.
Jaa, gomen kudasai. — Well, excuse me (I have to go).
Oyasumi nasai. — Good night. (for evening encounters)

Note: Sayoonara sounds too final for daily encounters — it implies you won’t meet the person again soon.

Months of the Year

Japanese months are literally numbered “first month,” “second month,” etc.

Month	Romaji	Kanji
January	ichi-gatsu	一月
February	ni-gatsu	二月
March	san-gatsu	三月
April	shi-gatsu	四月
May	go-gatsu	五月
June	roku-gatsu	六月
July	shichi-gatsu	七月
August	hachi-gatsu	八月
September	ku-gatsu	九月
October	juu-gatsu	十月
November	juuichi-gatsu	十一月
December	juuni-gatsu	十二月

Days of the Month

The first ten days have special readings:

Day	Romaji	Kanji
1st	tsuitachi	一日
2nd	futsu-ka	二日
3rd	mik-ka	三日
4th	yok-ka	四日
5th	itsu-ka	五日
6th	mui-ka	六日
7th	nano-ka	七日
8th	yoo-ka	八日
9th	kokono-ka	九日
10th	too-ka	十日
14th	juuyok-ka	十四日
20th	hatsuka	二十日
24th	nijuuyok-ka	二十四日

Days 11–31 (except those above) use -nichi: juuichi-nichi (11th), juuni-nichi (12th), etc.

Practice Exercises (練習)

A. Greeting Drill

Greet the instructor using weather-based expressions:

Hot day → Atsui desu ne.
Beautiful weather → Ii otenki desu ne.
Cold day → Samui desu ne.
Nasty weather → Iya na otenki desu ne.
Warm day → Atatakai desu ne.
Cool day → Suzushii desu ne.

B. Production Exercise — What do you say?

You meet your neighbor in the morning on a cold day → Ohayoo gozaimasu. Samui desu ne.
You meet a shopkeeper in the evening; nasty weather → Konbanwa. Iya na otenki desu ne.
You meet someone in your apartment building; very hot → Konnichiwa. Atsui desu ne.
You come home from a concert, the babysitter greets you → Tadaima.
A neighbor asks “Dokoka e odekake desu ka?” → Ee, chotto.

C. Negative Transformation Drill

Transform these sentences into the negative:

Koko kara eki made tooi desu. → Koko kara eki made tooku arimasen.
Koko wa samui desu. → Koko wa samuku arimasen.
Kore wa omoi desu. → Kore wa omoku arimasen.
Nihongo wa muzukashii desu. → Nihongo wa muzukashiku arimasen.

Cultural Notes

The four seasons and Japanese climate: Japan has four distinct seasons. March through May is spring (haru); June through August is summer (natsu); September through November is fall (aki); and December through February is winter (fuyu). There is also a notable rainy season (tsuyu) in June. Temperatures are measured in Celsius in Japan. Tokyo’s mean temperatures range from about 4°C (39°F) in winter to about 25°C (77°F) in summer.

Kanji to recognize:

Kanji	Romaji	English
駐車禁止	chuusha kinshi	no parking
制限速度	seegen sokudo	speed limit
一時停止	ichiji teeshi	stop
駐車場	chuushajoo	parking lot

Daily Greetings

What You Will Learn

Lesson Material