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Konnichiwa - Simple Japanese Phrases

By , About.com Guide

Meaning:

Good afternoon.

Pronunciation:

Listen to the audio file for "Konnichiwa."

Japanese Characters:

こんにちは。

Notes:

There is a rule for writing hiragana "wa" and "ha." When "wa" is used as a particle, it is written in hiragana as "ha." "Konnichiwa" is now a fixed greeting. However, in the old days it was a part of sentence such as "Today is ~ (Konnichi wa ~)" and "wa" functioned as a particle. That's why it is still written in hiragana as "ha."

More Greetings:

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