The Procedures of Greeting In Japan

THE PROCEDURES OF GREETING IN JAPAN

Hi guys, welcome back again on my blog. As usual, here I’ll discuss about Japan, especially about family life in Japan. Some times ago, I have told you about “Some Ways Japanese People Educate Their Children”. Hopefully, we can apply the methods of Japanese parents to overcome these children can be applied in our family life. Today, I’m going to tell you about “The Procedures of Greeting In Japan”, it is related to the last topic.

Greeting is a way for someone to intentionally communicate awareness of the presence of others who are related to each other. The children in Japan have been taught by their parents to always say hello to people they know and greet when they enter the house, since they were little. It same like Indonesia or other countries. But, there is a procedures of greeting in Japan. Let’s find out the procedure and how to do it.

The procedures of greeting:

1.    Bend Over (お辞儀, Ojigi)

Some time ago, I have told you how the Japanese people educate their children. One of them is respecting others. あいさつ Aisatsu is the culture of the Japanese people when saying excuse me, apologizing, getting acquainted, meeting older people and even receiving calls; they will bend their bodies slightly even though the person calling doesn't see you. Bend over (お辞儀, ojigi) is a must, this tradition has been taught to children since toddlers.

Bending habits are continuously carried out in Japan. It is necessary to know that how to bend men and women is different. Usually a man will put his hands next to his thighs when bent, while women will put their hands on their thighs. Japanese people will be happy if they meet always give greetings, like “Ohayou gozaimasu”, “Konnichiwa” and “Konbanwa”.

There are many types of bending like:

a. The nod of 5 degrees is used by good friends.

b. Bent 15 degrees, Eshaku (会 釈) is usually done to greet people in passing.

c. Bent 30 degrees, Keirei (敬礼) is used to greet customers or thank someone or invite friends to enter your house.

d. Bent 45 degrees, Saikeirei (最 敬礼) is used to indicate the most profound gratitude, respect, official apology, asking for help, and so on.

e.   Bent until the head touches the floor, Zarei (座 礼), ojigi which is done while sitting. Usually used by religious events.

But we can use a bent method with a bend of 30 degrees. If we are newcomers or foreigners, Japanese people will not force us to bend perfectly. They will respect you if you bow to them calmly and respectfully. The way to do this is to bend the deepest then followed by a low bow to the smallest.

2.    Say Something When Bent

When you come to Japan, there must be some Japanese greeting each other by bowing instead of shaking hands even. When they bow, they will say something. Do you know what they say? Okay, here I’ll tell you what they say.

a.    Ohayou Gozaimasu (おはようございます), it means “Good Morning”.

b.    Konnichiwa (こんにちは), it means “Good Afternoon”.

c.    Konbanwa (こんばんは), it means “Good Evening”.

d.    Oyasumi nasai (お休みなさい), it means “Good Night”.

e.    Sayonara (さようなら), it means “Goodbye”.

f.     Mata aimashō (また会いましょう), it means “See You Again”

g.    Hajimemashite (はじめまして), it means “The First Time To Meet you.

h.   Yoroshiku (onegaishimasu) (どうぞ) よろしく ( お願いします), it means “Nice To Meet You”.

i.      Arigato gozaimasu. (どうも) (ありがとうございます), it means “Thank You So Much.

There are still a number of expressions that can be said but these are some commonly used expressions. It is same with other countries but when they say above, they will bend and say it at the same time.

        So, those are some things that can we do if you want to go to Japan. We have to adjust ourselves to where we are so we can be accepted by them. Because the children in Japan who are toddlers they have been taught by their parents how to respect others that they know, like greeting and how they do it has been taught from the age of a toddler. Over and over again, the family factors are important in teaching their children with polite and kind things to children from childhood.

If you want to know more about family life in Japan, keep reading on my blog.
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