Before the year ends, よいお年を wishes someone a good coming year.

The idea

Before the year ends, よいお年を wishes someone a good coming year. After New Year begins, say あけましておめでとうございます; 今年もよろしくお願いします expresses a wish to continue a good relationship. Weather comments such as 暑いですね also open conversations.

Patterns to compare
JapaneseMeaning
よいお年としをyear-end farewell
あけましておめでとうございますNew Year greeting from January 1
暑あついですね“It is hot, isn’t it?”

Examples

  • 年末ねんまつに「よいお年としを」と言いいます。At year’s end, I say “Have a good New Year”.
  • 新年しんねんに「あけましておめでとうございます」と言いいます。In the New Year, I say “Happy New Year”.
  • 今年ことしもよろしくお願ねがいします。I look forward to our continued relationship this year.
  • 春はるは暖あたたかいですね。Spring is warm, isn’t it?
  • 夏なつは暑あついですね。It is hot in summer, isn’t it?
  • 寒さむいですね。お元気げんきですか。It is cold, isn’t it? How are you?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not use the New Year congratulations as a year-end farewell. The weather and the relationship shape which greeting feels natural.

Try it yourself

  1. Choose the Japanese form for “year-end farewell”: （よいお年としを／あけましておめでとうございます）

    Show answer or example answer

    よいお年を

    よいお年を matches “year-end farewell”; あけましておめでとうございます matches “New Year greeting from January 1”.

  2. Choose the Japanese form for “New Year greeting from January 1”: （暑あついですね／あけましておめでとうございます）

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    あけましておめでとうございます

    あけましておめでとうございます matches “New Year greeting from January 1”; 暑いですね matches ““It is hot, isn’t it?””.

  3. Choose the Japanese form for ““It is hot, isn’t it?””: （暑あついですね／よいお年としを）

    Show answer or example answer

    暑いですね

    暑いですね matches ““It is hot, isn’t it?””; よいお年を matches “year-end farewell”.

Use it today

Use the reference to make two sentences of your own about this topic. Read them aloud and compare them with the examples.