さようなら – How to say Goodbye in Japanese

Many Ways how to say goodbye in Japanese

Everyone eventually needs to say goodbye to someone. If you need to know how to say bye in Japan or are learning Japanese and just want to know goodbye in Japanese, you are in the right place.

How to say Goodbye in Japanese

There are a few different ways you can tell people bye-bye in Japanese. Let’s take a look.

さようなら

First, we have さようなら. This is the most standard and polite way of saying bye. You would say this to teachers, supervisors, or people of higher status. You may see people in manga or anime using this to say goodbye when they are departing for good but in real life that is not the case.

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More Casual ways to say Goodbye in Japanese

Other than さようなら there are other more casual ways you can say bye to friends, family, and so on.

じゃあ、またね is a more informal way to say bye. You can say this anytime when you are departing to someone close or that is not superior. There are other forms of this phrase that you can use also.

  • じゃあねSee you
  • またねSee you again

You can also be more creative and tell people things like, see you tomorrow, see you next week, or whatever.

  • またあとSee you later
  • また今度こんどUntil next time
  • 元気げんきでねTake care

Some people may even say バイバイ which is bye bye in Japanese.

Other Departing words for Different Situations

There are also other ways to say bye in Japanese for different situations.

お疲れ様でした

The word つかさまでした is said after people are finished working together. It could be used at the end of a workday, or even when people are finished with some event they put on together. It is a way for people to thank each other for their hard work. So, it is a way to acknowledge people’s hard work and say goodbye at the same time.

お先に失礼します

Not everyone will finish work at the same time. さき失礼しつれいします is a second way people can say goodbye in Japanese. Basically, it means I am leaving before you, or I am leaving now. If you are leaving work, or some gathering and need to leave while other people are still there you can say this. A shorter, more casual version of this would be お先に.

ありがとうございました

Finally, we have ありがとうございました. This actually means thank you. But, it is in the past form and people can say this when leaving somewhere.

https://japaneseuniverse.com/2020/06/11/%e3%81%82%e3%82%8a%e3%81%8c%e3%81%a8%e3%81%86%e3%81%94%e3%81%96%e3%81%84%e3%81%be%e3%81%99-vs-%e3%81%82%e3%82%8a%e3%81%8c%e3%81%a8%e3%81%86%e3%81%94%e3%81%96%e3%81%84%e3%81%be%e3%81%97%e3%81%9f/

It is a way to tell someone thank you for something and goodbye at the same time.

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