What do “ohayo” and “ohayou” mean in Japanese?
Japanese native speakers use these two phrases more or less in the same way: to friendly say “good morning” in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know these two as both are often used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain them in detail together with their grammatical background. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “ohayo” and “ohayou” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meaning of “ohayo”
- Definition and meaning of “ohayou”
- What does “ohayou” literally mean in Japanese?
- Ohayo vs. Ohayou: which to use
- Summary
Definition and meaning of “ohayo”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “ohayo”.
- ohayo – おはよ : a phrase meaning ‘good morning’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this phrase to friendly say “good morning” in Japanese. This is widely considered as the colloquial version of the other one, “ohayou”. Next, let me explain it in detail.
Definition and meaning of “ohayou”
The definition and meaning of “ohayou” are the same as those of the colloquial version. Therefore,
- ohayou – お早う (おはよう) : a phrase meaning ‘good morning’ in Japanese.
This phrase can work in more or less the same way as the shortened version does. Like other longer phrases, however, “ohayou” is widely considered grammatically correct and thus official.
This phrase has the kanji expression, but is quite often written in hiragana. So, we can basically focus on the hiragana expression.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. To understand this phrase more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail.
What does “ohayou” literally mean in Japanese?
“Ohayou” consists of the following two components:
- o – お : a prefix making its following word polite.
- hayou – 早う (はよう) : can be considered as one old conjugation of “hayai” which means ‘early’ in Japanese.
These two components tell us that “ohayou” is literally the Japanese polite expression for ‘early’. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but represents well how Japanese people greet in the morning. They love indirect expressions and phrases. So, they greet in the morning by saying “I see you such early (in the morning)”.
When we meet new Japanese phrases, we should check their grammatical components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about the meanings of the phrases they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “ohayou” through the detailed check above.
Ohayo vs. Ohayou: which to use
So far, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “ohayo” and “ohayou” in detail. Next, let me explain which we should use. Again, but “ohayo” is the colloquial version of “ohayou”. So, we should stick to the longer one to be grammatically correct. In daily casual conversations, by contrast, the shortened one is very acceptable. In reality, however, Japanese native speakers do not often differentiate one from the other in speaking as their pronunciations are very similar. One has the “u” sound at the end, but it is barely noticeable in fast conversations.
Then, let me explain how to use “ohayo” and “ohayou” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to use “ohayo”
「ohayo」 to boku wa kanojo ni it ta – 「おはよ」と僕は彼女に言った (「おはよ」とぼくはかのじょにいった)
“Goor morning,” I said to her.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what the speaker said to her.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “boku” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say in which direction an action goes. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to say to whom the speaker said.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu“, which means ‘to say’ 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. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “ohayo”. When we want to say “good morning” friendly in Japanese, this phrase is a good option.
Example #2: how to use “ohayou”
「ohayou gozaimasu」 to kanojo ga kotae ta – 「お早うございます」と彼女が答えた (「おはようございます」とかのじょがこたえた)
“Good morning,” she answered.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- gozaimasu – ございます : can be considered as the masu form of the old verb, “gozaru”, which politely means ‘to be’, ‘to exist’, or such in Japanese. This can work well together with “ohayou” to make it more polite.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kotae – 答え (こたえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kotaeru”, which means ‘to answer’ or ‘to respond’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
This is a typical usage of “ohayou”. In this example, it works together with “gozaimasu” to mean ‘good morning’ more politely in Japanese. Native speakers use this morning greeting especially in formal situations. It’s also worth mentioning here that “ohayo” is the colloquial version of “ohayou” and thus cannot work with “gozaimasu” to become more polite.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “ohayo” and “ohayou” in detail together with the grammatical background. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- ohayo – おはよ : a phrase meaning ‘good morning’ in Japanese. This is widely considered as the colloquial version of the other one, “ohayou”.
- ohayou – お早う (おはよう) : a phrase meaning ‘good morning’ in Japanese. This phrase is literally the Japanese polite expression for ‘early’. This literal interpretation is not in line with the actual meaning, but represents well how Japanese people greet in the morning. They love indirect expressions and phrases. So, they greet in the morning by saying “I see you such early (in the morning)”.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
