If you ever plan to visit Japan, or simply want to make nice to your ex-pat neighbor, you’ll want to memorize a dozen Japanese words. One of them is oyasumi. Oyasumi-nasai is a slightly polite version of “Good night.”

It is deceptively simple to understand what oyasumi means (and what oyasuminasai means).Generally, people in Japan say “goodnight” by using　おやすみ (Oyasumi).

Japanese, so there are always some surprises to look forward to. Unfortunately, no. That’s it, isn’t it?

Some of the time, the use of it might be inappropriate, depending on the situation.

What Does Oyasumi Really Mean?

It’s also possible to say goodnight to one’s superior politely, but in Japanese culture you’d rarely do that. Seniors commonly use OyasumiNasai to say good night to juniors.

Western culture may find it difficult to understand, but being overly nice/friendly to someone with higher status is actually disrespectful.

Taking a holiday or taking a rest is referred to as yasumi. Goodnight is a simple greeting. Oyasumi-nasai is the polite version for informational purposes. People who are older than you or who are taller than you are not supposed to say this. The prefix ‘O’ is an honorific prefix in Japanese (for example, O-sake means alcohol or O-tanjoubi means birthday).

Japanese people use the word “oyasumi” to say “good night”. Still, we must be cautious about this fact. Generally, Japanese natives use “oyasumi” only in casual conversations with family members and friends. Therefore, its use must be carefully monitored. As a typical usage of ‘oyasumi’, the example sentence above can be represented as follows.

As its components are also understood, it can also be viewed as a Japanese polite expression for ‘rest. These two meanings can be understood correctly in situations where their intent is very different. This equivalent English translation is the same as the previous one, but it sounds more casual. If we are meeting someone for the first time, for example, we should use the full expression when saying “good night.”.

Here is how to say “good night” in Japanese, example #1

また、明日、おやすみ

Good night See you tomorrow

What does Oyasuminasai mean?

You have a command ready-made if you attach the nasai! Start by taking the verb and putting it in its stem form. The Japanese phrase, “Yasumi nasai”, literally means “Go to sleep!.Simply slap on an “o” and you’ll get a nice, friendly, “Goodnight” from your o-yousumi-nasai. Good to hear from you. Yasumu is derived from yasumi. Where does -nasai fit in? We’re lucky, it’s simple. Yasumi is the genitive form of the verb yakumu, which means to rest, lie down, sleep, or go to bed. Nasai is a conjugation of the verb to turn it into something else.

So What does oyasuminasai means

A word in Japanese meaning ‘good night’: oyasumi nasai (おやすみなさい). There’s nothing complicated about its definition or meaning, I think. But let me explain each component of this expression in detail so you can grasp it better. This is a common way for Japanese native speakers to say “good night..

Conclusion

The Japanese word for “good night” is おやすみなさい which is shortened to おやすみ. There are many words in English that can be used with a similar meaning, such as “sweet dreams.”.