おはよう
おはよう
hepburn ohayou
good morning (casual)
Part of speech · expression
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- おはよう、今日もいい天気だね。Morning! Nice weather today again.
- おはようございます、社長。Good morning, sir (to the company president).
Collocations
おはよう (ohayou, morning — casual)おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu, morning — polite)おはよー (ohayoo, ultra-casual)モーニング (mooningu, café breakfast)朝 (asa, morning — noun)
Mnemonic
おはよう ohayou — etymology: お (honorific) + 早い (hayai, early) + う (verbal ending) = "[you came] early", a greeting acknowledging an early meeting. Polite form: おはようございます. Industry quirk: in TV/entertainment, the first greeting at any work start — even night shifts — is おはようございます, because "early" metaphorically marks the start of one's day. The standard morning hello at school and work. Subtly different from the Korean annyeong-haseyo, which is time-independent.
Quick check
Why does the TV/entertainment industry say おはようございます even at night?