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Let's take a closer look at each of these expressions.
In the first conversation, do you remember how Mark says,
"Good morning, Ms. Tanaka."
たγͺγ‹γ›γ‚“γ›γ„γ€γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚(Tanaka-sensei, ohayō gozaimasu.)
First is たγͺかせんせい, β€œMs. Tanaka.” たγͺかせんせい.
First, Mark addresses his teacher たγͺかせんせい.
This starts with the teacher's family name, たγͺか. た-γͺ-か. たγͺか.
After this is せんせい, teacher. せんせい. せ-γ‚“-せ-い. せんせい.
Note: when せんせい is used as a suffix, the meaning will depend on the context, as it can be attached to the names of teachers, doctors, lawyers, and politicians.
In the case of たγͺかせんせい, it translates as "Ms." since she's a private teacher and the situation is less formal.
Together, it's たγͺかせんせい. "Ms. Tanaka." たγͺかせんせい.
Next is γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™, meaning, β€œGood morning.” お-は-γ‚ˆ-う-ご-ざ-い-ま-す. γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™.
There are two parts to this expression: γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ† and ございます。
First is γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†, it comes from the adjective はやい, meaning β€œearly.” γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†.
Pronunciation note: notice the prolonged pronunciation of the vowel at the end of γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†. Listen again: γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†. This is called the long vowel.
Second is ございます, a polite form of the verb β€œto be” or β€œto exist.” ございます.
Together, γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™ literally means β€œearly it is,” but it translates as, β€œGood morning.” γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚
In Japanese, there are different levels of formality. This expression is formal. For informal situations, you can simply say the first part, γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†, β€œGood morning.” γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†.
All together, たγͺγ‹γ›γ‚“γ›γ„γ€γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚Literally, β€œMs. Tanaka, good morning,” but in more natural English, β€œGood morning, Ms. Tanaka.”
たγͺγ‹γ›γ‚“γ›γ„γ€γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚(Tanaka-sensei, ohayō gozaimasu.)
Do you remember how the teacher says,
β€œGood morning, Mr. Lee.”
γƒͺγƒΌγ•γ‚“γ€γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚ (RΔ«-san, ohayō gozaimasu.)
First is γƒͺーさん. Mr. Lee. γƒͺーさん.
This starts with Mark's family name, β€œLee,” in Japanese. γƒͺγƒΌ. γƒͺ-γƒΌ. γƒͺγƒΌ.
After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name, さ-γ‚“. さん.
The suffix can be used with any gender. In Mark's case, it translates as β€œMr.”
Together, γƒͺーさん, β€œMr. Lee.” γƒͺーさん.
Next is γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚β€œGood morning.” お-は-γ‚ˆ-う-ご-ざ-い-ま-す. γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚
All together, it's γƒͺγƒΌγ•γ‚“γ€γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚β€Good morning, Mr. Lee.”
γƒͺγƒΌγ•γ‚“γ€γŠγ―γ‚ˆγ†γ”γ–γ„γΎγ™γ€‚ (RΔ«-san, ohayō gozaimasu.)
In the second conversation, which takes place at noon, do you remember how Karen says,
β€œGood afternoon.”
こんにけは。(Konnichiwa.)
こんにけは means β€œGood afternoon.”
こ-γ‚“-に-け-は. こんにけは。
こんにけは consists of two parts:
First is こんにけ, a formal way of saying "today." こんにけ.
Second is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は. Think of it like β€œas for” in the expression β€œas for today.”
Together, こんにけは literally means β€œAs for today.” But it translates as β€œgood afternoon" or "hello” depending on context.
こんにけは。(Konnichiwa.)
Note the pronunciation of は, here. It's pronounced wa instead of ha when used as a particle.
Also note: when pronouncing this word, こんにけ be sure to pronounce the γ‚“ sound. こんにけ.
Do you remember how Ms. Tanaka says,
β€œGood afternoon, Ms. Lee.”
γƒͺーさん、こんにけは。(RΔ«-san, konnichiwa.)
Tanaka-sensei calls Karen Lee γƒͺーさん.
This starts with Karen's family name, Lee. γƒͺγƒΌ. γƒͺ-γƒΌ. γƒͺγƒΌ.
After this is さん, a polite suffix attached to a person's name. さん.
The suffix can be used with any gender. In Karen's case, it translates as β€œMs.”
Together, γƒͺーさん, β€œMs. Lee.” γƒͺーさん.
Next is こんにけは, β€œGood afternoon.” こんにけは.
All together, it's γƒͺーさん、こんにけは。Good afternoon, Ms. Lee.
γƒͺーさん、こんにけは。(RΔ«-san, konnichiwa.)
In the third conversation, which takes place in the evening at 6 p.m., do you remember how Ben says,
β€œGood evening, teacher.”
せんせい、こんばんは。(Sensei, konbanwa.)
When addressing his teacher, Ben simply uses せんせい without adding her name. People often address their teachers by the title, せんせい, without attaching it to a name when it's clear which teacher they're talking to.
Next is the greeting こんばんは, meaning β€œGood evening.” こ-γ‚“-ば-γ‚“-は. こんばんは.
こんばんは consists of two parts:
First is こんばん, meaning "this evening." こんばん.
Second is the particle, は, the topic-marking particle. は. Think of it like β€œas for” in the expression β€œas for this evening.”
Together, こんばんは literally means, β€œAs for this evening,” but it translates as β€œGood evening.”
Pronunciation note: when pronouncing this word, be sure to clearly enunciate the γ‚“ sound in こんばんは.
All together, Ben says,
せんせい、こんばんは。(Sensei, konbanwa.)
Do you remember how the teacher says,
β€œGood evening, Ben.”
ベンくん、こんばんは。(Ben-kun, konbanwa.)
First is ベンくん, "Ben." ベンくん.
This starts with Ben's name in Japanese, ベン. ベ-ン. ベン.
After this is くん, a suffix attached to a person's name. く-γ‚“. くん.
It is often used to address males with whom the speaker has a close relationship, who are younger than the speaker, or who are of lower social status than the speaker. In this case, the teacher, the speaker, is of higher social status than Ben, the student. There is no equivalent in English. Instead, the translation is contextual. In this case, there is no corresponding English translation, and ベンくん simply translates as β€œBen.”
Together, it's ベンくん、こんばんは。”Good evening, Ben.”
Tanaka-sensei: ベンくん、こんばんは。
こんにけは is the most general greeting, and the closest to β€œhello” in English.
It can be used in the morning or even at night.
When including a person's name in a greeting, it's more common to say the person's name before the greeting.
In addition, using a person's name in a greeting, may come across as more formal.
In informal situations, it's not so common to say someone's name when greeting them.

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