How to greet a Japanese person in Japan

Hi! Sorry about that fact that I have not posted in ages. While I was away, I noticed the way people say hello in japanese to me after they find out that I am Japanese. People seem to put their hands together, bow and say こんにちは (konnichiwa) but this is wrong. Here is my guide on how to and not to greet a Japanese person in Japan.

My survival guide to greetings in Japan

1. Do not put your hands together unless you are apologizing to someone or praying.
2. Bowing is a very important custom in Japan. Bow to people you know when you meet them. There are three types of bow: the informal bow, the common bow and the formal bow.               

      NB: These are not what they are called, I am going to use these names to differentiate between the bows.

When to use the informal bow

• You use this bow for casual greetings.
• Often it just involves nodding the head once.
• This bow could also be known as the 15 degree bow.

When to use the common bow

• This bow is used by shop assistants to greet their customers, when thanking someone or in buisiness situations
• This bow could also be known as the 30 degree bow

When to use the formal bow

• The formal bow is used when you apologize to someone or to someone very important like the Emperor
• This could be known as the 45 degree bow but you do not need use this one often

Whichever bow that you are using, you must return a bow if someone bows to you. Men bow with hand by their sides and women bow with their hands on their thighs and fingers touching.

    3. Greet the person verbally. Usually a conversation will start with こんにちは (konnnichiwa) In the morning, use おはようございます (ohayōgozaimasu) or おはよう (ohayō) for an informal greeting.  In the afternoon, use こんばんは (konbanwa).
    4. Be aware of the person's title. The most common title is (insert name here) さん (san) which means Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms. When addressing teachers and people with the title Dr, use (insert name here) 先生 (sensei) which means teacher. When adrdressing close friends, you can use くん (kun) for a male or ちゃん (chan) for a female. So a close male friend's name would be (insert name here) くん (kun) and a close female friend's name would be ( insert name here) ちゃん (chan)

If you enjoyed learning about greeting in Japan, please leave a comment.