A lot of non-Japanse people know “Good bye” in Japanese is “sayonara.”
Maybe sayonara is one of the most well-known and basic Japanese words. Even little kids know and understand the meaning of it.
Does that mean Japanese people use sayonara often?
…Not really.
You might notice that in Japanese manga, anime, or dramas, characters seldom say sayonara. It is possible and not rude to live in Japan without saying sayonara at all.
Why do we use sayonara very rarely?
Because it sounds a bit serious.
When you are parting with someone, if you say sayonara, it can connote “we may never see each other again.” Therefore, I don’t say sayonara to my friends. Unless you want to break up, NEVER say it to your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Japanese people do not say sayonara to…
family members, friends, girlfriend, boyfriend, relatives, colleagues, teachers, students, coaches, customers, and someone you are close to.
I say sayonara to…
Someone who is passing away.
Someone you may not see again.
Sayonara sounds like this…
What is goog-bye in Japanese then?
I say words meaning good-bye many times evry day, but when it comes to usage of the word, I realized this is not an easy question. Because it depends on the situation. …Actually, this is very hard to answer.
Who were you seeing? Your friend, colleague, boss, or family?
What were you doing? Having meal, conversation, or business meeting?
Due to these factors, I change the word when I leave. I got the feeling that there is no one phrase that can work at any situations.
After a lot of thoughts, I came to an answer. I guess these two are very likely.
1 Soredewa mata（それでは また）(polite way)
≒See you
or
2 Soreja mata（それじゃまた） (casual way)
≒See you too
These two phrases sounds like this.
Japanese words meaning good-bye are numerous enough to let me make an another post. From now on, I start trying to.
