Sayonara is one of the most famous Japanese words in the world. Even some people who never studied Japanese often know it. But if you’ve been studying Japanese, you may also have heard that people don’t actually use sayonara very often in daily life.
So, what do Japanese people really say when saying goodbye? Let’s look at some common examples:
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お疲れさま（おつかれさま otsukaresama）
お疲れ様でした（おつかれさまでした otsukaresamadeshita）
When leaving the office saying goodbye to coworkers or your boss.
When leaving an izakaya with colleagues or your boss and saying goodbye.
After the gym, when the staff say goodbye to customers.
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またね（matane）
じゃあまたね（jaa matane）
When saying goodbye to friends, like “See you!”
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ありがとうございました（arigatoo gozaimashita）
From restaurant staff to customers.
From a customer to staff at the gym.
From a parent to daycare teacher when picking up a child.
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失礼します（しつれいします shitsurei shimasu ）
失礼いたします（しつれいいたします shitsurei itashimasu ）
When finishing a business meeting with a client/business partner.
When leaving your boss’ desk or office.
——-
お大事に（おだいじに odaijini ）
From hospital staff to patients.
So when do people actually use sayonara?
The most common place to hear sayonara is in schools. At kindergarten, primary school, junior high, high school, university, or even after-school lessons, students (and sometimes parents) say sayonara to teachers at the end of the day or after class. Here, it works almost like a set ritual phrase between teachers and students.
In everyday life, between adults (friends, colleagues, family) sayonara is almost never used because it feels heavy and final. People prefer またね、じゃあね、お疲れ様 etc.
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