Japanese for English speakers School · Lesson 0

First greetings

Classroom-style Japanese greetings — おはようございます (good morning, before 9am), どうぞよろしく (nice to meet you), and 皆さん for 'everyone'.

Conversation

  1. Lindo Lindo

    皆さん、おはようございます

    Mina san, ohayō gozaimasu

    Good morning everybody

    Tip: <Minasan> = everybody <ohayou gozaimasu> = good morning (very early, not after 9.00 am)

  2. Pishi Pishi

    おはようございます！

    Ohayō gozaimasu!

    Good morning!

  3. Lindo Lindo

    リンドです、どうぞよろしく

    Rindo desu, dōzo yoroshiku

    I am Lindo. Nice to meet you all

    Tip: <dōzo> = please (when showing the way, not used when asking favors) <yoroshiku> = Literally: be nice / be patient Personal pronouns like "I, you, he, she" do exist but are rarely used in Japanese.

  4. Pishi Pishi

    よろしくお願いします

    Yoroshiku onegai shimasu

    Nice to meet you

    Tip: <onegai shimasu> = please, when asking a favor This idiom is used in many different contexts and can't be literally translated in English.

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

When do you say おはようございます vs こんにちは?

おはようございます is for early morning (typically before ~11am). こんにちは is for late morning to evening.

What does 皆さん mean?

'Everyone' or 'all of you' — a polite collective form for addressing a group of people.

Why is どうぞよろしく used?

A versatile greeting roughly meaning 'please be good to me' — used when meeting someone, asking favours, or starting a new task together.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Japanese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

Next lesson in School Basic self introduction →