“Ohayou” (pronounced just like “Ohio”) means “good morning” and is used pretty much anytime before noon. To make it more polite, say “ohayou gozaimasu” (go-zah-ee-MAHS). “Konnichiwa” (KO-nee-chee-wah) means “good afternoon” and is also a standard hello. It can be used between noon and about 5 PM. [3] X Research source “Konbanwa” (kon-BAHN-wah) means “good evening,” and is used between 5 PM and midnight. If you want to mix things up, you can say the Japanese equivalent of “Greetings,” which is aisatsu (AH-ee-saht-soo).
For example: “Watashi no namae wa Miyazaki Hayao desu,” means “My name is Hayao Miyazaki. " Bear in mind that Japanese people rarely use “watashi” in conversation. When introducing yourself, you can omit the “watashi wa” if you’re comfortable trying to sound like a local. “Anata,” which means “you,” is similarly avoided. Thus, you can simply say “Joe desu,” to tell someone that your name is Joe.
For a more casual form, you can just say “Yoroshiku. " In almost all cases, however, you should err on the side of the more formal, more polite form. If you’re introducing yourself casually to a young person of similar social standing, you can omit almost all of the extra words. Simply say, “Joe desu. Yoroshiku,” to mean “I’m Joe. Nice to meet you. “[6] X Research source
You could also replace “arigatou” with “okagesama de” (oh-KAH-geh-sah-mah deh) which means basically the same thing.
