How to say goodbye in Japanese: Beyond sayounara

Many Japanese language beginners first learn the word さようなら (sayouonara) as the word for “goodbye”. However, in reality, Japanese people don’t really use this word as often as you might expect. There are numerous other ways to say “goodbye” in Japanese and it will open up your conversation skills by learning them!

Stay tuned for a sample conversation between me and panda-san, a new friend who is leaving to go back to China.

First, an explanation of さようなら (sayounara)

Since this is the first word that most people learn for the word “goodbye”, it’s important to clarify when people use it. This phrase is normally used when you won’t see the other person for a long time or for break ups. Here’s an old Japanese enka song that uses the word sayounara, meaning that it’s a long goodbye.

もう私たちこれでおしまいね。さようなら。
Mou watashitachi korede oshimaine. Sayounara.
I guess this is the end for us. Goodbye (or Farewell)

The other common occasion is in schools. Teachers and children will say this at the end of the school day. It’s a more official “goodbye” then what we might want to use in daily life. 

では、これで今日の授業は終わりです。皆さん、さようなら
De wa korede kyou no jugyou wa owari desu. Minasan, sayounara.
With this, we will conclude today’s class. Goodbye everyone. 

“See you later” (or other defined time)

また＿＿。- mata ____. – See you _____.

This is a useful phrase for saying goodbye when you know you’ll see the other person again at a set time. You can insert words like 明日 (ashita – tomorrow), 来週 (raishuu – next week), or 来年(rainen – next year). This is only used in casual settings with friends and family.

今年のイベント、楽しかった。また来年（ね)！
Kotoshi no ibento tanoshikatta. Mata rainen (ne)!
This year’s event was fun! See you next year!

また後で! – mata atode! – see you later!

If you want to say “see you later” and you don’t know when exactly you’ll see the other person, this is the perfect phrase. It’s very casual and friendly.

授業にもどらないと。また後で！
Jugyou ni modoranaito. Mata atode!
I have to return to class. See you later!

また今度! – mata kondo – see you next time!

This is a useful phrase if you want to say “see you next time!”. If you are planning to have the same activities or event with the other person, it would be the ideal phrase.

今日は一緒に運動できて楽しかった。また今度！
Kyou wa issho ni undou dekite tanoshikatta. Mata kondo!
It was fun exercising together. See you next time!

When leaving a place

The Japanese language has many phrases for saying goodbye when leaving a place. These phrases are difficult to directly translate into English. I will be giving examples to clarify the meanings. Also, these phrases work by themselves so it’s not necessary to add other context in real-life situations.

お邪魔しました。- ojama shimashita (when leaving someone’s house)

This phrase literally translates to “I bothered you”. It is used as a way to be considerate and polite, when you’re leaving someone’s house. For example, if you were invited for dinner and stayed past midnight you could say: 

今日は(大変)お邪魔しました。
Kyou wa (taihen) ojama shimashita.
Thank you (very much) for having me over today. (works as a goodbye)

失礼します。- shitsurei shimasu (when leaving your seat, meeting, event, or in the workplace)

When you’re leaving for a short period of time, this can work well. 失礼 (shitsurei)  means to be rude. This tells people “excuse me”, especially when you need to leave your seat or leave to go somewhere.

ちょっと失礼します。
Chotto shitsurei shimasu.
Excuse me for a bit.

お先に失礼します。- osaki ni shitsurei shimasu (when you’re leaving work or other function early)

This is useful when you will be leaving your workplace, or an event earlier than others. It also works if others are working or staying to do something, but you will have to excuse yourself.

猫にご飯をあげないといけませんので、お先に失礼します。
Neko ni gohan o agenaito ikemasen no de, osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.
I need to feed my cat, so I’m going to excuse myself early.

お疲れ様でした。 – otsukaresama deshita (when your colleague is leaving earlier than you) 

If you have a subordinate that you work with, this is common to say to them when they’re leaving work earlier than you. お疲れ様 (otsukaresama) means something like “thanks for your hard work”.

大変だったね、お疲れ様でした。
Taihen dattane, otsukaresamadeshita.
It must have been difficult, thanks for your hard work.

行ってきます。 – itte kimasu (when departing from home to go somewhere)

This is a phrase used when you are leaving your home. It’s typically used in families. When a family member is leaving, they will announce their departure.

デートに行ってきます。
Deeto ni itte kimasu.
I’m leaving to go on a date.

行ってらっしゃい。 – itte rasshai (when seeing someone off)

This is usually the response to 行ってきます (itte kimasu). You can say this to see your family member off, when they leave the house.

気をつけて行ってらっしゃい。
Kiotsukete itterasshai.
Please be careful, bye.

When you won’t see each other for a long time

The following phrases are all standalone phrases that mean that you won’t see the other person for a long time. The formality is indicated on each phrase. 

Formal phrases should be used with those of higher social status (elders, strangers, and acquaintances) and casual phrases should be used with those of equal and lower social status (younger people, friends, and family)

またいつか会おうね。- mata itsuka aoune. – let’s meet again someday. (casual form)

またいつか会いましょう。mata itsuka aimashou – let’s meet again someday (formal form)

元気でね。- genki dene. – stay healthy (casual form)

気をつけてね。- ki o tsukete ne – take care (casual form)

気をつけてください。- ki o tsukete kudasai – take care (formal form)

Casual goodbyes

These goodbyes are slang phrases and very casual. Most of them are shortened versions of また後で。(mata atode) or “see you later.” The last one is “bye bye” in English, written out in Japanese katakana. 

じゃーね。 – jaane – see ya!

またね。 – Matane – See ya!

じゃーまたね。 – jaa matane – see ya!

じゃ！ – ja!  – bye!

バイバイ。 – bai bai – bye!

Sample dialogue between Tanuki and Panda

Me and Panda-san will not see each other for a long time, and I’m seeing him off at the airport. Tanuki is marked by a “T” and Panda is marked by a “P”

T:パンダさんがいなくなると寂しくなる。
Panda san ga inakunaruto samishiku naru.
It’s going to be lonely when you leave, Panda.

P:僕もタヌキさんと会えなくなるのが悲しい。
Boku mo tanukisan to aenakunaru no ga kanashii.
I’m also sad that I won’t be able to see Tanuki anymore.

T:また遊びにきてね。
Mata asobinikitene.
Please come visit again.

P:うん。タヌキさんも中国にいつでも遊びにきてね。
Un. tanuki san mo chuugoku ni itsudemo asobinikitene.
Yes. Tanuki, please also come and visit China at anytime.

T:パンダさん、元気でね。
Panda san, genki dene.
Panda, stay healthy.

P:タヌキさんも。またいつか会おうね。
Tanuki san mo. mata itsuka aoune.
You too, Tanuki. Let’s meet again someday.

I hope that you’ve learned some new ways on how to say goodbye in Japanese. Keep in mind that to really learn how to use all of these phrases, you’ll need to try them out on native speakers and also observe how they use them. It’s also possible to combine different “goodbye” phrases together. If you havn’t already, feel free to check out my other articles like How to Introduce Yourself in Japanese or How to say sorry in Japanese: 10 useful phrases

~Tanuki