konnichiha.

Hello!

Breakdown of konnichiha.

• こんにちは: hello; good afternoon

Questions & Answers about konnichiha.

How do you pronounce こんにちは?

It is pronounced roughly kon-ni-chi-wa.

A few notes:

• こ = ko
• ん = an n sound
• に = ni
• ち = chi
• は here is pronounced wa, not ha

The stress is not like English stress. Japanese has a more even rhythm, so try to say each part clearly and smoothly: ko-n-ni-chi-wa.

Why is the last character は pronounced wa instead of ha?

This is one of the first things learners notice. Normally, は is read ha. But when は is used as the topic particle, it is pronounced wa.

In こんにちは, the final は comes from older grammar where it functioned as that particle, so the modern pronunciation stayed wa.

So:

• normal reading of は = ha
• particle は = wa

That is why こんにちは is read konnichiwa, not konnichiha.

Is こんにちは always written in hiragana, or can it be written with kanji?