Basic greetings and introductions | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 皆さん、おはようございます。

   Good morning, everyone.

   皆さん

   everyone

   おはようございます

   Good morning

   More detail

   皆さん means “everyone” here, addressing the whole group. 皆 means “all/everyone,” and さん is a respectful title attached to a person or group reference; together, 皆さん is the common polite way to address everyone. Example: 皆さん、こんにちは。 — “Hello, everyone.” おはようございます is the polite expression “Good morning.” The shorter おはよう is also used, especially in informal situations or with people close to the speaker. The full form is more polite and is suitable for addressing a group or speaking respectfully. Example: おはようございます、先生。 — “Good morning, teacher.” Together, 皆さん、おはようございます。 addresses a group as “everyone” and gives them a polite morning greeting: “Good morning, everyone.”

2. お元気ですか。

   How are you?

   お元気

   well; in good health

   ですか

   are ...?

   More detail

   お元気: In this utterance, 元気 means “well” or “in good health.” It is commonly treated as a na-adjective and can also function as a noun-like state word. The prefix お- adds a polite/respectful tone here; it is not a separate English pronoun or a marker of the person being discussed. A useful related contrast is 元気です = “I am fine / [someone] is well,” with the person understood from context. ですか: です is the polite copula, and か marks the sentence as a question. Together here, they turn the statement-like expression into a polite question. です does not itself specify the person; Japanese often leaves the subject unspoken when context makes it clear. Example: 学生ですか。 means “Are you a student?” Whole utterance: お元気 expresses being well, and ですか politely asks whether that is the case. Thus お元気ですか。 means “How are you?”—literally, a polite question about the listener’s condition. This is a standard polite greeting or check-in.

3. 元気です。

   I am fine.

   元気

   well; fine

   です

   am/is/are

   More detail

   元気 means “well” or “in good condition” here. It is commonly used as a な-adjective: before a noun, use 元気な (“healthy/energetic …”), while in this sentence it stands as the predicate. For example, 元気な子 means “an energetic child.” The form does not itself mark the speaker’s person or number. です is the polite copular form, used here to make a statement equivalent to “am/is/are” in English. It does not independently identify the subject; Japanese often leaves an understood subject unspoken when the context makes it clear. In this fixed sentence, the translation identifies the speaker as the subject. A less formal predicate can use だ instead of です, but です is the polite choice here. Together, 元気です means “I am fine.” The predicate 元気 expresses the speaker’s condition, and polite です presents that statement in a courteous form. The sentence does not need an explicit Japanese pronoun for “I.”

4. はじめまして。

   Nice to meet you.

   はじめまして。

   Nice to meet you.

   More detail

   はじめまして。 is a conventional polite greeting used when meeting someone for the first time. In this expression, it functions as a complete set phrase; it is not a request or a statement that something is pleasant. A useful contrast is はじめて, which commonly means “for the first time” within a larger sentence. For example: 日本に来るのははじめてです。 — “It is my first time coming to Japan.” This does not replace the greeting はじめまして. Putting the utterance together, the single expression はじめまして。 conveys “Nice to meet you.” The following context contains another polite expression, but it does not change the meaning of this greeting.

5. 良い一日をお過ごしください。

   Have a nice day.

   良い

   nice; good

   一日

   day

   お過ごしください

   please spend; please have

   More detail

   良い means “nice” or “good” here and describes 一日. It is the attributive form of the i-adjective 良い（よい）; いい is a common conversational variant, while 良い is the form shown in the sentence. Example: 良い本です。 — “It is a good book.” 一日 means “day” here, giving the time period being wished for. In this sentence it is read いちにち, meaning one whole day or the day as a period; the fixed translation identifies the intended sense as “day.” Example: 一日休みます。 — “I will rest for a day.” お過ごしください is a polite request meaning “please spend” or, with a time period such as 一日, “please have.” Its base verb is 過ごす (“to spend time”); 過ごし is its verb stem. The pattern お + verb stem + ください is a polite request pattern, so お過ごしください is more courteous than a bare request. Example: ゆっくりお過ごしください。 — “Please take it easy.” Together, 良い一日 means “a nice day,” and お過ごしください asks the listener to spend it pleasantly. The complete utterance therefore means “Have a nice day.”

6. どういたしまして。

   You are welcome.

   どういたしまして。

   You're welcome.

   More detail

   どういたしまして is a fixed Japanese expression used as a conventional reply to thanks. In this utterance, the fixed translation gives the intended meaning “You’re welcome.” Learn it as a whole response rather than translating it word by word. The form いたし is related to the humble verb いたす, a humble form of する, but that relationship does not make the complete expression a literal description of an action here. For example: ありがとう。 — “Thank you.” どういたしまして。 — “You’re welcome.” The period marks the end of the utterance. Together, the utterance is a polite conventional response meaning “You’re welcome.” The supplied surrounding context does not itself establish that someone has just expressed thanks, so that situational detail comes from the expression’s usual use and the fixed translation, not from the preceding sentence.