In Spanish we have 3 types of greetings depending on the time of day: good morning, good afternoon and good night. Different languages, such as English and Japanese, depending on the time of day, may use an additional greeting. In Japanese there is the greeting konbanwa , which, translated into English, means “good evening”. Although in English this expression is used as a greeting when you arrive at a place at night, in Japanese it is used to greet when the sun has already set and it has darkened. According to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK for its acronym in Japanese), the time to greet with a konbanwa is around 7 pm in summer and 5:30 pm in winter.
Origin of the word konbanwa
As mentioned, the word konbanwa does not have a direct translation into Spanish, but it does into English: it translates “good evening”. However, an interesting aspect of this greeting in Japanese is that it is not related to the time. This does happen with good evening in English, which is used at night. In Japanese this expression is related to darkness. For sure, at 5 pm in winter it will be darker than at the same time in summer. Therefore, around 5 pm in summer, people in Japan will use ” konnichiwa ” to greet with “good afternoon”. This happens keeping in mind that, at that time during that season, the sun will still be shining.
Konbanwa is also a formal greeting. For this reason, it is the ideal and most appropriate way to greet strangers, neighbors, employers, bosses or the elderly. Being a formal greeting, it is rare to use it among friends. It is also recommended that foreigners in Japan use this expression when entering a restaurant, cafe, or similar place.
Writing and pronunciation of the word konbanwa
Unlike konnichiwa , which can be written in hiragana (こんにちは) or kanji (今日は), konbanwa can only be written in hiragana (こんばんは). This word has the advantage that, in English, it is written as it is pronounced. To pronounce it correctly it is better to make sure that the “a” sound is longer. Thus, the correct pronunciation of konbanwa is kon-ban-waah.
