さようなら

Japanese
Japanese phrasebook
This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Alternative forms

Etymology
Alternative spellings
然様なら (rare)
左様なら (rare)
さよーなら (rare)

Shortening of earlier 左様ならば (sayō naraba), itself a compound of 左様 (sayō, “like that, that way”) +‎ ならば (naraba, “if”, now somewhat archaic, often replaced by なら (nara)).[1] Literally “if that's the way it is”.

First cited to roughly 1742 as a conjunction (literally, “if it's like that, then...”). The interjection usage is cited to 1788, and then the noun sense is cited to roughly 1915.[1]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) さよーな​ら [sàyóónáꜜrà] (Nakadaka – [4])[2]
  • (Tokyo) さよーなら​ [sàyóónáráꜜ] (Odaka – [5])[2]
  • IPA(key): [sa̠jo̞ːna̠ɾa̠]
  • Audio(file)

Interjection

さようなら • (sayōnara) ←さやうなら (sayaunara)?

  1. [1788] (formal) a final expression of departure; farewell, so long, adieu, goodbye
  2. [1788] (dated, formal) a non-final expression of departure: goodbye, au revoir
    • 1921, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, アグニの神 [God of Aguni]:
      ドウカ明日(あした)ノ朝(あさ)モウ一度(いちど)、オ婆(ばあ)サンノ所(ところ)ヘ來(き)テ下(くだ)サイ。コノ計(けい)略(りゃく)ノ外(ほか)ニハオ婆(ばあ)サンノ手(て)カラ、逃(に)ゲ出(だ)スミチハアリマセン。サヤウナラ。
      Dōka ashita no asa mō ichido, obāsan no tokoro e kite kudasai. Kono keiryaku no hoka ni wa obāsan no te kara, nigedasu michi wa arimasen. Sayōnara.
      Please come again tomorrow morning to this house. I see no way for me to escape the old woman apart from this plan. Goodbye.

Usage notes

This term has strong connotations of finality, so this is not used when departing a place such as one's home, unless one intends not to return in the foreseeable future.

Synonyms

Use of these terms depends on the situation.

Noun

さようなら • (sayōnara) 

  1. [circa 1915] a farewell, a goodbye

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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