あいさつ Aisatsu Greetings
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Hi, everyone!
Today I will teach you how to greet people in Japanese.
Here are some basic Japanese greetings. 
-Good morning : Ohayou! (casual) 「お早う!」Ohayou gozaimasu. (Formal) 「お早うございます。」
-Good afternoon : Konnichiwa! 「今日は！」
-Good evening : Konbanwa! 「今晩は！」
“How are you? ” in Japanese is Ogenki desuka? 「お元気ですか？」
Between friends, just say “Genki?” 「元気？」
(“Ogenki desuka” is more formal than “Genki?” or “Genki ni shiteru?” )
-You will also hear, “Choushi (wa) dou?” 「調子(は)どう？」 “How is it going?”
How to reply if somebody asks you “Ogenki desuka?”
-“Hai, okage sama de“「はい、お陰様で」: It means, “Yes, thanks to you.（or God, Budha, etc.)”
Between friends, if somebody asks you “Genki?”, you say “‘(Un), genki!” 「（うん）元気！」
（”Un” is a casual way to say “Yes”. “Hai” is more polite.)
If you feel so-so, you say ”Maa Maa desu.” 「まあまあです。」／(Maa)Nantoka yatte imasu. 「（まあ）何とかやっています。」（I’ve been managing somehow) （or Bochibochi desu (yatteimasu. ) ぼちぼちです/ぼちぼちやっています。Esp. Osaka area.）
Remeber how to say “Nice to meet you!” in Japanese? (See the 1st lesson “Nice to meet you!”=hajimemashite) in this blog.
When you meet someone who hasn’t seen for a long time, you say
Ohisashiburi desu! = 「お久しぶりです。」(Long time no see!)
Between friends : Hisashiburi! 「久しぶり」or Hisashiburi dane! 「久しぶりだね！」
“How have you been? ” in Japanese is ;
(Formal) Ogenki deshitaka? お元気でしたか？
(Casual) Genki datta? 元気だった？ or Genki ni shiteta? 元気にしてた？
Japanese people often greet with “Tenki no wadai” =weather topics.
For example,
-It is hot (cold) , isn’t it. Atsui (Samui) desune. 「暑い(寒い）ですね。」
-It has been hot, hasn’t it? Atsui hi ga tsuzuki masune. 「暑い日が続きますね。」
-It has been raining a lot lately. Saikin ame bakari desune. 「最近雨ばかりですね。」
-What annoying weather! Otenki ga warukute komarimasune. 「お天気が悪くて困りますね。」
<C u l t u r e N o t e >
It is not common to shake hands or kiss on the cheeks when greeting people in Japan although they do shake hands in certain occasions. Also we sometimes see some figures who are supposed to be Japanese on TV or in the movies, greeting each other putting both hands together palm to palm in front of their chest. You will never see that kind of greeting on the street in Japan. Usually they bow lightly each other with smile . That’s called “会釈”=Eshaku.
Sometimes they just say “Doumo…” 「どうも」(Doumo means “Very” : Doumo sumimasen: “I am very sorry.” Doumo arigatou : Thank you so much. But this “Doumo…” doesn’t mean anything. Just means “Hey!”or Hi!” )
From Maggie : 道で私に会ったら、ちゃんと挨拶してね！Michi de watashi ni attara chanto aisatsu shitene!
If you see me on the street, say hello properly!
2 Responses to “あいさつ Aisatsu Greetings”
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@maggiesensei 
Buzenko on March 1st, 2011
I have a qustion about ようこそ, i hope it’s ok to ask here.. I heard this word a lot, but never in situation when somebody is welcoming someone in his country.. so would it be ok to greet someone “ようこそ日本へ！” for example?
Yukari on March 1st, 2011
@Buzenko
ようこそ means Welcome!
Ex. ようこそ日本へ! = youkoso nihon e = Welcome to Japan!