こんにちは

also: こんにちわ · こにちわ · こにちは

こ

ん

に

ち

は

Common wordJLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

1

interjection

hello; good day; good afternoon

usually written using kana alone

A standard daytime greeting used from late morning until early evening. The は is pronounced わ.

こんにちは、お元げん気きですか。
Hello, how are you?
先せん生せいに会

あ

っ

たら

「

こんにちは

」

と

言い

い

ましょう

。

When you meet the teacher, say 'hello'.

Written forms

こんにちはUsage89%
Standard kana spelling; the は is pronounced わ. This is the usual written form.
こんにちわUsage9%
irregular kana usage
Irregular kana spelling reflecting the pronunciation; sometimes seen in casual writing.
コンニチハUsage1%
コンニチワUsage1%
今日は
- こんにちは
  Kanji spelling, but the word is usually written in kana. May be confused with きょうは.
- こんにちわ
  irregular kana usage

Kanji

今now
日day, sun, Japan

Similar words

おはようございます
Used in the morning, while こんにちは is used from late morning to early evening.
こんばんは
Used in the evening, while こんにちは is used during the daytime.

Etymology

Derived from the phrase 今日は (こんにちは), literally 'as for today', which was originally part of a longer greeting such as 今日はご機嫌いかがですか (How are you today?). Over time it was shortened to just こんにちは.