Inspired by the post about vegetable names in the Italian blog, today I’m going to introduce you the most popular vegetables 野菜  (yasai)  in Japan. There are a lot of vegetables that are very popular in Japan but that are quite unknown or not common in the US or in Europe. Whenever I visited my relatives in the rural areas of Japan I usually went to the 八百屋 (yaoya) to buy vegetables and fruits.

Have fun while learning some new japanese vocabulary!

Last post was about how to say hello in japanese. As there are many ways to say hello, there are also many ways to say good-bye.

The most well-known word for good-bye is probably さようなら (sayounara). I am sure you’ve heard さようなら before, but actually it means like good-bye forever or for a very long time. Therefore avoid さようなら if you are planning on seeing the person again. If you know that you will see a person soon again, you should use じゃあね (jyaa-ne) or また明日(mata ashita). But keep in mind that じゃあね or また明日 are informal ways of greetings.

Some informal greetings which are often used are:

また明日 (mata ashita) – see you tomorrow

またあとでね (mata atode ne) – casual, see you later

じゃあ(jyaa)、それじゃ(sorejya) – bye, see ya

ではまた (dewa mata) – see you later

じゃあね (jyaa-ne) – bye , see ya

またね(mata ne) – see you soon

げんきでね(genki de ne) – be well

失礼します (shitsurei shimasu) – very formal, this greeting is often used to a superior or when you leave someone’s presence

お先に (osaki ni) – formal, “I’m  leaving first” (when you e.g. leave the office first)

お先に失礼いたします (osaki ni shitsurei itashimasu) – highly formal

お疲れ様でした (otsukare sama deshita) – formal, is often used to express the appreciation for hard work and is most often used in work places

行ってきます (ittekimasu) – I’m off (to be used when you leave the house, to those who are staying)

行ってらっしゃい (itterasshai) – Take care (to be used when you stay in the house, to those who are leaving)

Take a look at the videos below to learn the pronunciation.

I hope this post was useful to improve your vocabulary. じゃあね !!

Basically hello is translated こんにちは (kon-nichi-wa) but the japanese greetings also depend on the time of the day. In the morning you often use おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu) as hello. When you speak to friends and family the  おはようございます is often abbreviated to おはよう (ohayou). Around noon or afternoon it is こんにちは(kon-nichi-wa) and like you say “good evening” you say こんばんは(kon-ban-wa). There is one exception: If you are answering the phone you use もしもし(moshi-moshi). Other useful phrases are  ただいま (tadai-ma) ( it means “I’m home”) and おかえり (oka-eri)(it means “Welcome home”).

Close male friends and relatives use おっす (oss). Female Friends or friends with opposite gender don’t usually use this informal greeting. This greeting is similar to “hey, man!” or “hey, dude!”

Another informal greeting that is nowadays quite common is よ!(yo) , よー!(you) or おう (ou), they all mean “hey”.

The phrase 最近どう (saikin dou) is often used as a greeting, which would be similar to “what’s up?” or “what’s new”. As this phrase is also quite informal you should only use it to someone you are on familiar terms with, like a friend, relative, classmate or co-worker.

Another useful phrase is 久しぶり (hisashiburi) which is used to greet someone you have not seen recently. In English this greeting would be “long time, no see” or “it’s been a while”. A more formal way to express the greeting would be お久しぶりですね(o-hisashiburi desu ne).

This video is very useful to learn the pronunciation of おはよう、こんにちは and こんばんは. The video could be quite a challenge since she is only talking in japanese but I think it is a very good way to learn a language by speaking just the language. So give it a try!