There are different levels of politeness in the Japanese greetings. Some greetings are more polite than others. Polite greetings are usually used by younger persons to greet older persons, and plain greetings are used between peers and by older persons to greet younger ones. In more general terms, this distinction reflects hierarchical differences within a community in which the subordinates/juniors (e.g., students) pay respect to the superiors/seniors (e.g., teachers). (The Japanese characters below will be formally introduced in Lesson 2.)

A:		おはようございます。	Good morning. (polite)
B:		おはよう。	Good morning. (plain)
A:		おやすみなさい。	Good night. (polite)
B:		おやすみ。	Good night. (plain)

Some greetings do not have superior/subordinate distinctions and are used regardless of the hierarchical positions within a community as shown below.

A:		こんにちは。	Good day/Hello.
B:		こんにちは。	Good day/Hello.
A:		こんばんは。	Good evening.
B:		こんばんは。	Good evening.

There are different levels of politeness in saying good-bye.

A:		さようなら。	Good bye.
B:		しつれいします。	Good bye; Excuse me (for leaving). [Polite]
A:		じゃあ、また。	See you again. (casual)
B:		バイバイ！	Bye bye! (casual)

Requests:

おねがいします。

Will you please (do me a favor)?

Expressions when you hand over something:

	はい。	Here you go.
	どうぞ。	Here you go.

Thank-you expressions range from casual to more polite ones. (1) ありがとう is a casual "Thank you" commonly used for peers, friends and colleagues. By adding ございます at the end as in (3), you can make it sound more polite. Women tend to use more polite expressions. By adding どうも in front as in (4), you can make it sound more careful. どうも can be used by itself as in (5).

There are other expressions not listed above that can be used in more formal situations.

You are welcome:

どういたしまして。

You are welcome. (polite)

A title さん pronounced as /san/ is used after other people's name. This is a generic title for men or women, married or single, and it can be used after one's first name or last name. No title is used after your own name. Don't put さん /san/ to your own name!

To address one's teacher, the title せんせい /sensei/ is used. Frequently, people use this title to show their respect to that person regardless of whether or not he/she is in fact a teacher.