Japanese Workplace Greetings for Your First Week

At work, say おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu) when you arrive. If you leave while coworkers are still working, say お先に失礼します (osaki ni shitsurei shimasu); a common reply is お疲れさまでした (otsukaresama deshita).

Keep each greeting brief. A greeting can mark that you have arrived or are leaving without asking the other person to begin a conversation. Workplace routines differ, so start with these polite forms, follow explicit company guidance, and notice what your coworkers use. For greetings outside work, begin with everyday Japanese greetings.

お疲れさまです is an internal workplace acknowledgment whose natural English depends on the moment. It is not a universal customer or client greeting, and it does not replace a task handoff or a specific thank-you.

The Play and Slow controls on this page use your browser or device voice, not a human-reviewed recording. Voice availability and pronunciation vary. Use the written readings for study, then check listening and pronunciation with reliable Japanese audio or a real exchange.

Let the greeting end after the reply

The two brief greetings mark the beginning and end of Maya’s workday without taking over the coworker’s time. In the morning, Maya speaks first and receives the same greeting. In the evening, she announces that she is leaving and receives a brief reply. The coworker has acknowledged her twice and still owns the separate task.

Say ohayō gozaimasu when you arrive

Use おはようございます when you arrive for the workday. Say it once clearly to the people nearby, then let the exchange end after their reply unless someone actually begins a longer conversation.

Some workplaces use the morning form as an arrival routine on particular shifts even when the clock is later. Do not assume that pattern is universal. Follow explicit company guidance and the routine you actually hear in your team.

You do not need to walk around repeating the greeting to every employee unless that is the local practice. On a first day or new assignment, greet first and give your name and role when introductions are happening; use the separate self-introduction pattern rather than packing it into every arrival.

Use otsukaresama desu inside the workplace

お疲れさまです acknowledges someone’s work or your shared workplace context. Depending on timing, it may function like a brief internal hello, an opening to a work message, or recognition of ongoing effort. A common reply to お疲れさまです is the same phrase.

Do not shorten the phrase only because another coworker does; relationship and role may differ. Do not treat it as a universal greeting for customers or external clients. Use the greeting your workplace expects for that relationship.

When someone teaches, checks, or covers a specific task, a specific thank-you is clearer than making お疲れさまです do every job. The separate lesson on natural ways to say thank you owns those choices.

Leave with osaki ni shitsurei shimasu

When you leave while other people continue working, say お先に失礼します. It tells them that you are going first; it is not a request for permission and does not mean that leaving on time is wrong.

The reply completes the greeting; neither person has to add a new topic. If work information is still needed, give the handoff before the farewell: identify the task state, where the material is, who owns the next action, and when it is due. The ritual phrase cannot replace that operational message.

Open and close the workday naturally

• Arrive with おはようございます, listen for the reply, and let the brief exchange end.
• Use お疲れさまです as a flexible internal acknowledgment, not as a universal greeting for every relationship.
• Leave with お先に失礼します and recognize お疲れさまでした as a common reply.
• Keep a necessary task handoff or specific thank-you separate from the greeting.
• Begin with polite forms, then follow explicit company guidance and the practice you actually observe.