Odaijini is a Japanese get-well wish, explained in detail

What does “odaijini” mean in Japanese?

Japanese people say “odaijini” to mean ‘get well soon’ or ‘take care of yourself’ in Japanese. In this blog post, I will explain this expression in detail based on its components. And also, I will explain how to use it through an example conversation. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “odaijini”
• Components of “odaijini”
  • Example : how to say “get well soon” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “odaijini”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “odaijini”.

• odaijini – お大事に (おだいじに) : a Japanese expression for ‘get well soon’, ‘take care of yourself’, or such.

This is a Japanese get-well wish. We can use it in the same way as other get-well wishes.

To understand this expression more clearly, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.

Components of “odaijini”

“Odaijini” consists of the following three parts:

• o – お : a prefix making its following word polite.
• daiji – 大事 (だいじ) : a noun meaning ‘important thing’ in Japanese. This can also work like an adjective meaning ‘important’.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a state which someone or something is in after a change or action. In the expression, this is used after “odaiji” to indicate the particular state which “something” is in.

From these three components, we can understand that “odaijini” is a polite expression asking the listener to consider “something” as important. Japanese people love indirect expressions, so “something” is not clearly mentioned here. In most cases, however, it is the listener’s health. So, “odaijini” is a Japanese get-well wish asking the listener to consider his/her health as important.

When we meet new Japanese expressions, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “odaijini” through the detailed check above.

Then, let me explain how to use “odaijini” through the example conversation below.

Example : how to say “take care of yourself” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• infuruenza – インフルエンザ (いんふるえんざ) : a noun meaning ‘the flu’ in Japanese. This is an imported word from Italy.
• ni – に : the same as used in “odaijini”. This case particle is used to indicate a state which someone or something is in after a change or action. In the example, this is used after “infuruenza” to indicate the state the first speaker is in. The flu is considered as a state here.
• nat – なっ : one conjugation of the verb, “naru”, which means ‘to become’, ‘to turn’, ‘to get’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “nat” to make its past tense form, “nat ta”.
• arigatou – ありがとう : an interjection meaning ‘thank you’, ‘thanks’, or such in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “odaijini”. It works as a get-well wish to the person who caught the flu. And, he/she says “arigatou” as an answer to it. Japanese native speakers often use the get-well wish and the answer like this.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “odaijini” in detail based on its components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example conversation. Let me summarize them as follows.

• odaijini – お大事に (おだいじに) : a Japanese expression for ‘get well soon’, ‘take care of yourself’, or such. This is literally a polite expression asking the listener to consider his/her health as important. Japanese native speakers often use this as a get-well wish.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.