Saying goodbye is not easy… especially in Japanese.

So you’ve heard さようなら (sayōnara) before, right? And yes, it does mean goodbye in Japanese. But here’s something you might not know… most Japanese people don’t actually use it in everyday life. I don’t either—unless I’m breaking up with someone or leaving forever! 

As a greeting, さようなら (sayōnara) tends to be one of the first phrases Japanese learners may encounter. Yet, this phrase is not used almost at all. In fact, saying this to a friend or co-worker can be very condescending.

Then how do we greet your friends, co-workers, and people you encounter when you want to say goodbye in Japanese? Read on and you will master greetings in different situations.

Table of Contents:

Introduction: Sayōnara – Meanings & Uses

Why is sayōnara a standard for textbook goodbye in Japanese? The reason is because this is how teachers say goodbye to students in a classroom or school situation. Students learn to say this back to the teacher at the end of the day as a formal greeting. However, this is not used in many situations outside of school.

The etymology of “Sayōnara”

Interestingly, “さようなら” actually comes from the phrase 左様ならば (“If that’s the case…”). In older times, people would say something like:

左様ならば、これにてご免ください。
sayō naraba, kore nite gomen kudasai.
If that’s the case, please excuse me.

左様ならば、ごきげんよう。
sayō naraba, gokigenyō.
If that’s the case, have a good day.

Eventually as the language evolved, this phrase 左様ならば (sayō naraba) was shortened to “さようなら,” (sayōnara) and now most people just say “さよなら” to say goodbye in Japanese. But again—it’s rare to hear this in daily life outside of schools. Instead, let’s look at all the better, more natural ways to say goodbyeーbased on the situation. Let’s go!

Situation 1: Casual Ways to Say Bye to Friends

Here are friendly, everyday goodbyes you can use with friends or people your age.

1. じゃあね

じゃあね
jyaane
Okay then, bye!

「じゃあ」 means “well then,” and 「ね」is a sentence-end particle used to share feeling/information with the other person. It adds a friendly notion.

A masculine version you may have heard in anime is:
じゃあな
jyaana

2. またね

またね
matane
Okay then, bye!

また simply means again and just like じゃあね (jyaane) we add the ね at the end to make it a softer, inclusive phrase. Sometimes, you will hear young males say:

またな
matana

You can also combine the first two goodbyes to say:

じゃあ、またね
jyaa, matane

3. また (time)

If you are saying bye to someone you will the next day, you would say see you tomorrow in English. In the same way, you can add a time word after また (mata) if you know when you are meeting next time. To do that, we need to know some basic time words.

Common Time Words in Greetings
あとで　atode – later
明日　　ashita – tomorrow
来週　　raishū – next week
来月　　raigetsu – next month
来年　　rainen – next year
こんど　kondo – next time

So in Japanese, see you tomorrow would be:

また明日(ね)
mata ashita(ne)

Or see you next week would be:

また来週(ね)
mata raishū(ne)

In a similar manner, you can also use days of the week in this greeting such as:

また金曜日ね！
mata kin’yōbi ne!

Don’t know the days of the week in Japanese quite yet? Memorize it through Yuya sensei’s rap HERE!

Situation 2: Goodbye in Japanese at Night Time

If you are trying to say goodbye in Japanese at the end of the day, towards bedtime, you can actually use this:

おやすみなさい
oyasuminasai
Have a good night.

Typically, the more intimate nature of the phrase good night makes it more natural to use between family members or closer friends. Neighbors or other members of an apartment may also use this if you encounter them at nighttime. Otherwise, the greeting can mark the end of a late night party at an izakaya (Japanese pub).

With friends, you can also use the casual version:

おやすみ
oyasumi

A more polite way of saying this, which nurses might say to an overnight patient or colleagues might say to their seniors in a work trip is:

おやすみなさいませ
oyasuminasaimase

The good night greeting in Japanese is not only used over the phone or in bed, but also in goodbyes at the train station to your friends at night or with your neighbors.

Situation 3: Leaving your home or group

Japanese people DO NOT say see you later when they leave their homes. They say:

いってきます
ittekimasu 

The grammar breakdown is as follows:
いって – comes from the te-form conjugation of 行く (to go)
きます – means I’ll come back

The person staying behind and greeting off the person leaving should respond:

いってらっしゃい
itterasshai

The らっしゃい part is very similar to the store or restaurant greeting いらっしゃいませ (irasshaimase) – this is another way to say “come in” which adds the meaning of the person being welcomed back when they return. It sounds like they are telling them: “Please go and please come back”

Most times these phrases are used at home, but you can also hear this in group settings such as a friend leaving for an occasion or stepping away from the office in the middle of the day.

During a picnic, some food and drinks run out. So you decided to volunteer to buy more food and drinks at a nearby convenience store for the friend group. When you leave the group temporarily, a fitting greeting would be:

コンビニいってきます
conbini itte kimasu.
I’ll be gone to the Conbini (and I’ll come back).

You can use this in business settings as well. Before going on a business trip, you might want to notify your colleagues by saying:

大阪に行ってきます
ōsaka ni itte kimasu.
I’m going to Osaka.

Or if you are stepping away from office for a meeting with a client or a member of another department, a proper greeting to your colleagues can be:

ミーティング行ってきます
mi-tingu itte kimasu.

Situation 4: Leaving Someone’s Home

When you’re invited to someone’s home as a guest, it is polite to say: お邪魔します (ojyamashimasu). On the other hand, when you’re leaving, it is best to say:

お邪魔しました
ojama shimashita

邪魔 (jyama) means to be bothersome. しました (shimashita) is the past tense verb meaning that an action was done. Therefore, this phrase literally means, “I was a nuisance” but the expression actually shows gratitude. A closer English phrase in definition would be like “thanks for having me”.

Although the phrase is formal, people habitually use it with close family members and friends even.

Situation 5: Have a Good Day in Japanese?

Have you ever used Translate with the phrase have a good day? You might get results like 良い1日を (yoi ichi nichi wo) but this is another phrase you will not hear much in Japan.

Instead, we show care for someone else’s day by hoping for good news or safety. Here’s a list of handy phrases for that.

“Have fun” “Enjoy…” in Japanese

• Formal: 楽しんでください　tanoshinde kudasai
• Casual: 楽しんでね　tanoshindene

Examples:
「デート楽しんでね」
de-to tanoshindene
= have fun in your date!

「留学楽しんでください」
ryūgaku tanoshinde kudasai
= please enjoy your study abroad.

“Good Luck” “Do Your Best” in Japanese

• Formal: 頑張ってください　ganbatte kudasai
• Casual: がんばってね　ganbattene

Examples:
「テストがんばってね」
tesuto ganbatte ne
= good luck with the test.

「面接がんばってください」
mensetsu ganbatte kudasai
= hope you do well in your interview.

“Take care” “Safe travels” in Japanese

• Formal: 気をつけてください　ki wo tsukete kudasai
• Casual: 気をつけてね　ki wo tsuketene

Examples:
「体調に気をつけてください」
taichō ki wo tsukete kudasai
= please take good care of your health.

「運転気をつけてね」
unten ki wo tsukete ne
= drive safe! (for a long trip)

Situation 6: When someone is sick or injured

When someone is sick, you wouldn’t say just bye or see you later right? You would tell them, get well soon. Luckily, there is an equivalent phrase in Japanese.

In Japanese, we would say:

• Formal: お大事にしてください odaiji ni shite kudasai
• Casual: お大事に odaiji ni
• Honorific form: お大事になさってください

Doctors and nurses also tell you this as you leave their office or hospital.

Situation 7: Leaving an Establishment (Restaurants, Services)

When leaving any kind of store or restaurant, your server and other workers will say thank you:

ありがとうございました
arigatō gozaimashita

You can say thank you back to them as a way to say goodbye in Japanese grocery and convenience stores or after an interaction at a hair salon or hotel desk. However, in contrast, at a restaurant, there is a better way to say thank you and goodbye.

ごちそうさまでした
gochisōsama deshita

You may have learnt this greeting as a way to say “thank you for the meal” at the dining table. At a restaurant, you can say this in a moderate voice to the restaurant to show gratitude.

If you want to learn more about conversations and phrases you will use in restaurants and izakaya, check this blog article out!

Situation 8: Working in Japan?

Doing a part-time job or full-time job in Japan with Japanese colleagues means learning many greetings and phrases used mostly just on the job. Greetings for goodbye happens to bring another set of workplace-specific phrases.

When someone is leaving the office or workplace in Japan, they will say:

お先に失礼します
osakini shitsurei shimasu

The second part 失礼します means please excuse me. We add the nuance of going ahead or before someone else with the part: お先に.

To respond, their colleagues at the office will say,

お疲れ様でした
otsukaresama deshita

Situation 9: Graduation and Retirement

After a prolonged time belonging to a group or being under care of someone else, there is a better fitting greeting than just saying goodbye in Japanese.

If you are working in Japan or with Japanese people, you may use this phrase to give thanks and greet goodbye for a client or business partner not belonging to your own organization; or when you are transferring departments or leaving a company for good, you will want to tell your bosses and colleagues this:

お世話になりました
osewa ni narimashita

The meaning behind 世話 sewa (care) comes from the verb 世話をする sewa wo suru which means to look after or to take care.

Again, this greeting is not a mere goodbye, but a showing of gratitude and recognition of their efforts given to you as part of their care.

The phrase works for the end of the school year/semester situations with your teachers as well.

Situation 10: Farewell in Japanese

If you don’t expect to see the person for a long time again, you can wish them well by saying:

お元気で
ogenki de

The phrase may not sound super formal, but this came from the longer, original phrase お元気でいてください ogenki de ite kudasai. This means please stay being healthy and well. You can still use the shorter version even with strangers and relatives.

To make this phrase softer and more intimate, in casual situations, you remove the お in the beginning and add a ね ne at the end.

元気でね
ogenki dene

Learn from a video:

Do you want to learn to say goodbye in Japanese in 10 different situations, but with audio and visuals? Here’s a YouTube video by Sayaka sensei detailing all the phrases covered in this video. Watch and be sure to comment on the video!

Ready to learn more?

Today you learned goodbye in Japanese in 10 different situations from casual settings to in work environments. Being able to use the correct greeting would mark a great, lasting impression and confidence as a Japanese learner. You also learned some of the “untranslatable” phrases used very often and even more niche situations such as leaving a restaurant or saying get well soon. With this article, you can surely perfect greetings as a traveler, student, or a businessperson in Japan.

Have you…

• Ever thought of learning Japanese, but have no access to classes?
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• Given up on speaking Japanese before?
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• OR are you UNMOTIVATED to study Japanese?

Then you should check out Sayaka’s Beginners Japanese lessons! With engaging weekly lessons covering task-based conversation practice, kanji, grammar for different situations, and useful phrases, you will for sure fall in love with all the fun and warmth you will experience in Sayaka’s class. Check her 101/102/103 and 104 classes out here!

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