Many times the expression ohayou gozaimasu [おはようございます] is translated as good morning, but is that really its meaning? What if I say no?
Any dictionary you read will simply say that ohayou means good morning. In fact, we even wrote an article that talks about greetings and good morning in Japanese.
Table of Contents
What does Ohayou mean?
The word ohayou [おはよう] actually derives from the adjective hayai [早い], which means early or fast. In this case, its origin comes from early, which is why it is often translated as good morning.
The term originated in the Kabuki world, by the people who were arriving at the place and already meeting other people in the place. The term means something like "arrived early in".
It takes time for Kabuki actors to prepare, so they arrive and prepare long before the performance starts. The word means an early arrival.
In this case, this word began to be used in a general way in everyday life for anyone who meets for the first time in the day. So becoming good morning.
The term can be written with the character [お早う] but is usually found only in hiragana.
What does Gozaimasu mean?
We have already written a complete article talking about the meaning of Gozaimasu. This word derives from the verb gozaru, a polite form of desu or the verb to be.
Today is the day gozaimasu is used at the end of expressions to enhance their strength, express humility, and politeness. It is the formal way to say good morning.
In other words, generally, the Japanese who know each other and have some intimacy tend to use only ohayou. The gozaimasu is used only when they want to be more formal.
Ohayou can be used at Night
When consulting jisho.org, you find a brief description in gray saying that ohayou can be used colloquially at any time of the day.
That's right, despite the general term today being translated as good morning, its origin refers to the meeting of people in a workplace regardless of the time.
Its meaning "arrived early" does not specifically refer to the morning. For this reason, don't be surprised if you find people saying ohayou at night in the factory.
It is noteworthy that the word originated in the entertainment world in which the vast majority took place at night.
Ohayou in other dialects
Finally, let's leave a complete list of the word Ohayou in Japan's 48 regional dialects.
| Hokkaido | おはよー |
| Aomori | おはよーごし |
| Iwate | おはよがんす |
| Miyagi | おはよー |
| Akita | おはよー |
| Yamagata | はやえなっす |
| Fukushima | はやえなっす |
| Ibaraki | おはよー |
| Tochigi | おはよー |
| Gunma | おはよー |
| Saitama | おはよー |
| Chiba | おはよー |
| Tokyo | おはよー |
| Kanagawa | おはよー |
| Niigata | おはよー |
| Toyama | おはよー |
| Ishikawa | おはよー |
| Fukui | おはよさん |
| Yamanashi | おはよーごいす |
| Nagano | おはよーござんす |
| Gifu | おはよー |
| Shizuoka | いあんばいです |
| Aichi | はやいなも |
| Triple | はやいなー |
| Shiga | おはよーさん |
| Kyoto | おはよーさん |
| Osaka | おはよーさん |
| Hyogo | おはよーさん |
| Nara | おはよーさん |
| Wakayama | はやいのー |
| Tottori | おはよーござんす |
| Shimane | おはよ |
| Okayama | おはよー |
| Hiroshima | おはよーがんす |
| Yamaguchi | おはよーごぁんす |
| Tokushima | おはよーがーす |
| Kagawa | おはよーござんす |
| Ehime | おはよー |
| Kochi | おはよー |
| Fukuoka | おはよーござす |
| Saga | おはよーござんした |
| Nagasaki | おはよー |
| Kumamoto | おはよーござるます |
| octa | おはよー |
| Miyazaki | はえのー |
| Kagoshima | こんちゃらごあす |
| Okinawa | っうきみそーちー |
