おはよう（おはよう、ohayou）
- good morning

The word おはよう means "good morning" in Japanese. It's a greeting used in the morning, typically from when you wake up until around noon. It expresses a wish for a good day or a friendly greeting to someone you meet during the morning hours. It’s a shortened form of おはようございます (ohayou gozaimasu), which is the more polite and formal version.

⚫︎ おはよう！ Translation: Good morning! ⚫︎ おはようございます、田中さん。 Translation: Good morning, Mr. Tanaka. ⚫︎ おはよう、今日はいい天気ですね。 Translation: Good morning, it's a nice day today, isn't it?

⚫︎ Use おはよう when you greet someone in the morning. ⚫︎ It is generally used with people you are close to, such as family, friends, and colleagues. ⚫︎ Whileおはようis generally informal, it’s not considered rude. ⚫︎ To be more polite, use おはようございます. ⚫︎ The time frame for using おはよう is usually from when you wake up until around noon, but it can vary based on context.

⚫︎ おはよう is primarily written in hiragana. ⚫︎ The kanji form is rarely used. ⚫︎ おはよう has no variation in okurigana.

⚫︎ おはようございます (more polite "good morning") ⚫︎ There are no direct, equivalent synonyms in terms of a simple greeting.

⚫︎ こんにちは (konnichiwa) - "hello" (used during the day) ⚫︎ こんばんは (konbanwa) - "good evening"

友達におはようって言った。 ・Translation: I said "good morning" to my friend. ・Explanation: This sentence demonstrates a casual use of おはようto greet a friend.

毎日、家族におはようって言います。 ・Translation: I say "good morning" to my family every day. ・Explanation: This sentence illustrates the common usage of おはよう within a family context.

The word おはよう is derived from the adjective 早い (hayai), meaning "early" or "fast," and the verb ございます (gozaimasu), a polite form of "to be." It originally expressed the idea of "it's early," evolving into a morning greeting. The word itself is a contraction of the slightly older and more formal "早う御座候" (hayō gozaisōrō), which has become "早うございます" (hayō gozaimasu) then "おはようございます."