How to say hello in Japanese depends on when you say it. This is very much like different greetings used in English at different times of the day or night. In Japanese culture, it also depends on whether you are on the phone or meeting somebody or whether you are close to the person you are greeting. We don’t get formal with our close friends. We seldom greet them with “Good morning” or “Good evening”. A “Hi” is enough.
Although the most popular and most well-known translation for “Hello” is still “Konniqiwa”, it is not exactly how to say hello in Japanese. Perhaps it is not the most suitable word for it. Actually, the correct greeting in English for “Konniqiwa” is “Good day” or “Good noon”, and I am sure you wouldn’t like to greet people with a “Good day” at any time, and neither do Japanese like saying “Konniqiwa” when they want to say “Hello”.
So what to do? Let’s do it in the way the Japanese do. Use “Ohaiyo Gozaimasu” for “Good morning”, “Konniqiwa” when it’s noon and “Konbanwa”to greet somebody in the afternoon. Things differ when you are on the phone. Just say “Moshi, Moshi”, which is actually similar to saying “Hello” over the phone, because one hardly ever uses “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” or “Good evening” right after picking up the phone. It is invariably the sweet old “Hello”.
Next time, I’ll tell something about my life in Japan.
What is the best title for this passage?

A．How to say hello

B．How to greet close friend in Japanese

C．How to greet people in Japanese

D．Some differences between English and Japanese

Japanese people greet each other by saying “___” in the afternoon.

A．Moshi, Moshi

B．Konniqiwa

C．Ohaiyo Gozaimasu

D．Konbanwa

In the writer’s opinion, ____.

A．Japanese culture is similar to American culture

B．Japanese people don’t like using “Konniqiwa” as a greeting for the whole day

C．people don’t need to be polite to their close friends

D．Japanese people are very friendly to each other

The word “invariably” in the third paragraph means “___”.

A．Probably

B．Always

C．Sometimes

D．Likely