konnichiwa question...

[mirabellexx]

so, i'm a complete beginner first off. and im sorry if this is in the wrong section ^^;

but in my studies ive come across multiple spellings of konnichiwa, the two most used:

こんにちわ
and
こんにちは

im just a little confused because wouldn't the second one be "konnichiha"?

i know this is kind of stupid... but please help a beginner?

[phreadom]

Simply put it's "こんにちは" and the "wa" sound at the end is the particle "wa", which is written with the kana "は". (although I think even Japanese people spell it "こんにちわ" as well sometimes... but don't quote me on that)

"kon nichi wa", literally "as for this day..." if I remember correctly. Basically like English speakers saying "Good day!" or something.

http://thejapanesepage.com/grammar/chap ... _particles

Maybe check that out as a beginning point to familiarize yourself with what particles are.

Hopefully this helps answer your question a little.

[becki_kanou]

AS phreadom says, technically こんにちは is correct, but many Japanese native speakers (especially in the younger generation) will spell it こんにちわ. It's still considered a mistake by most people however, so you should stick to こんにちは when you write it yourself, but understand that they are the same when you see others use them!
HTH!

[andouyasai]

I also think that I have seen quite a similar case for 「こんにちは」and 「こんにちわ」 before... such as 「おはよう」 and just 「おはよ」 (omitting the kana letter 「う」). I don't really know why, but I know that 「おはよう」 is more appropriate when greeting someone "Good morning".
Just sharing.

[AJBryant]

AS phreadom says, technically こんにちは is correct, but many Japanese native speakers (especially in the younger generation) will spell it こんにちわ.

I compare that to people typing "wassup" or "heya" in English.