What is japanese of good night?

Generally, the Japanese expression for saying “goodnight” is おやすみ (oyasumi). It’s pretty easy to use, too. Even if you’re a Japanese beginner or just starting to learn the language, saying this phrase can help you get closer — or at least friendlier — with your Japanese neighbor. It’s one of the four basic Japanese greetings, which include:

おはようございます！Ohayou gozaimasu!Good morning!

こんにちは!Konnichiwa!Good afternoon!

こんばんは!Konbanwa!Ｇood evening!

You can make おやすみ (oyasumi) more formal by adding なさい (nasai). Together, it becomes おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai).

However, it may be inappropriate or weird to use them sometimes depending on the situation. In this article, you will be learning how to use the expression おやすみ in different situations, such as when going to bed and leaving to go home.

The greeting oyasumi (おやすみ) is stemmed from the Japanese verb yasumu (休む), which actually has a lot of meanings: to be absent, to take a day off, to rest, to have a break, to go to bed or to rest. Contextually, the word isn’t just used to say “good night” or “have a good rest” to someone.

Let’s take a look at the two scenarios below.

本日お店はお休みさせていただきます。Honjitsu omise ha oyasumi sasete itadakimasu.Please allow the store (us) to have a break today.

今日店長の休みの日だから、一緒に頑張りましょうか。Kyou tenchou no yasumi no hi da kara, issho ni ganbarimashouka.Today is the manager’s holiday, so let’s work hard together.

Notice the different translation from the original oyasumi (おやすみ)? That’s because, in the Japanese language, the word yasumu (休む) is used to indicate someone taking a time off or an absence. You’ll notice this being used in a lot of Japanese work environments, when an employee, business, store or company may request a day off.

Notice the ‘o’ in oyasumi (おやすみ)? It doesn’t actually change the meaning of the expression. Rather, think of it as an addition to make the entire phrase more polite. This is because the お (O) is one of the two Japanese honorific prefixes besides ご (Go) that can be added to some nouns or verbs to make a sentence more honorific.

This is one of the many ways you can make a formal sentence, otherwise known as teineigo (丁寧語), into keigo (敬語), which are words, phrases and conjugation in the Japanese language used in super-formal situations.

We’re not really diving into the complex world of keigo right now, as that one is for advanced Japanese learners. However, the general rule is that before a native Japanese word, you should place an お. The prefix お can be attached to a noun but can also be attached to a verb stem for the grammatical construction of keigo.

The original version of Oyasumi (おやすみ) is actually its longer form that we briefly brushed up on earlier: おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai).

Nasai is part of conjugation on that verb to make it do something else. You’ve probably heard of ~てください, which is used to make requests or commands, but it holds more sense of authority. The conjugation 〜なさい is a suffix that is used to make polite commands or directions.

To connect 〜なさい to a verb, you’ll need to use the stem form of the verb. To make it even more refined, you add the prefix お (O) before the verb.

お + Verb う+ なさい

There you have it: おやすみなさい is a very subtle, polite command to a say: “Please have a good rest!”

Similar to you saying “goodnight” when your friend or someone who is close to you is going to bed, you can also say it to your friend when you are about to sleep.

For example, when you are on the phone with your friend, you can say:

そろそろ寝(ね)るね、おやすみ。sorosoro nerune, oyasumiI’m about to sleep, goodnight.

おやすみ。”OyasumiGoodnight.

When your friend says “oyasumi” to you, you should also reply to your friend with “oyasumi“.

When wishing goodnight to someone who is superior to you, instead of saying “oyasumi”, you should use the more formal form “おやすみなさい”. Unless you are very close with them, do not use おやすみ (oyasumi) to someone superior to you as it may be considered impolite.

For example, when you are on a business trip with your supervisor and he is going to sleep.

A: 今日はちょっと疲れたから、先に寝るよ, おやすみ。Kyouwa chotto tsukaretakara, sakini neruyo, oyasumiI am going to sleep first because I’m a little bit tired today, goodnight.

B: はい,　おやすみなさい！Hai, oyasuminasai.Sure, goodnight!

Oyasumi can also be used when it is late at night and someone is leaving to go home.

For example, when you and your colleagues are on the last train, your friend is going before you. You can say:

今日は一日お疲れ様でした、おやすみなさい。”Kyowa ichinichi otsukaresamadeshita, oyasuminasaiThanks for your work today, good night.

It is rarely the case that some people may find”おやすみなさい” inappropriate to be said to a superior person. This is because, in the strict sense, “おやすみなさい(oyasuminasai)” does not belong to any type of the Japanese Keigo.

To avoid trouble, alternatives you can use one of the following:

お疲れ様でしたOtsukaresamadeshita.Thank you for your hard work.

今日はありがとうございましたKyou wa arigatougozaimashita.They both means thank you for your hard work today.

Now that you have learned when and how to say goodnight in Japanese, do you know how to say good morning in Japanese?

You will learn 9 different and cool phrases to say goodnight in Japanese. You will also be able to distinguish which Japanese expression is the best for different situations.

So, let’s get started!

Japanese: おやすみ Play

Romaji: oyasumi

The most common and simple way to say goodnight in Japanese is おやすみ (oyasumi). You can use this phrase before going to bed or when leaving somewhere at night and saying goodbye to your friends. You can also use it before hanging up the phone if it is nighttime.

People who have just started to learn Japanese sometimes use these two words interchangeably, but they are not the same.

おやすみなさい (oyasuminasai) Play is the more formal form of おやすみ (oyasumi). So, if you want to wish goodnight to someone who is your senior, in terms of ranking and age, you should use oyasuminasai.

Japanese people generally use oyasumi for family members and friends.

Japanese: そろそろおふとん入るね Play

Romaji: sorosoro ofuton hairune

This Japanese phrase is commonly told to kids to imply that their bedtime is coming. They are expected to stop whatever they are doing and go to bed. It’s also okay to say this to a close friend, but keep in mind that this phrase is very casual and not appropriate for people older than you.

Japanese: 良い夢見てね Play

Romaji: yoi yume mitene

This is the second most common goodnight phrase in Japan after oyasumi. Remember that it is a casual and informal expression, so you should only say it to your family and friends.

Japanese: また後で夢で会おうね Play

Romaji: mata atode yumede aoune

This Japanese phrase has a meaning similar to ”see you again in our dreams” or ”let’s meet in our dreams.” As you can probably guess, this phrase is only appropriate for couples who are in love.

Japanese: ゆっくりおやすみ Play

Romaji: yukkuri oyasumi

This Japanese phrase means to sleep deeply and well enough to restore your energy for the next day. It is a casual and informal phrase, so you can use it with anyone except for people who have seniority over you.

Japanese: 朝にまた会いましょう Play

Romaji: asa ni mata aimashō

You can hear Japanese people say this phrase in daily life, but it can be both formal and informal depending on the situation. You can use this phrase as a goodbye, rather than a goodnight when leaving a group of people. Just make sure that you will see them tomorrow morning otherwise it would be pointless to use this phrase.

Japanese: 私の夢 Play

Romaji: watashi no yume

This is an informal phrase, so you should only say it to your close friends or romantic partner. It might be a good choice to say this phrase if you are talking to your lover over the phone or texting.

Japanese: 天使と一緒に寝る Play

Romaji: tenshi to isshoni neru

This particular phrase has two different meanings, but they have no relevance to each other, so you should be careful and aware of the situation before saying it.

The first meaning is literally wishing someone to sleep with angels, as in sleeping so well and comfortably.

The second meaning of this phrase has to do with death. When talking about someone who has passed away, you can say something like 彼女は今天使と寝ています (kanojo wa ima tenshi to nete imasu). Play This means that she is sleeping with the angels now.

Japanese: 私はあなたの夢を見ます Play

Romaji: watashi wa anata no yume wo mimasu

Here is another romantic way of wishing someone a goodnight in Japanese. If you are dating a Japanese person and want them to know that, even in sleep, you always want to be with them, then this is the phrase for you.