Hi, I was having a conversation with a japanese person (soo sugoi!!) and she told me something at the end which confused me. she said "oyasumi"! I know now that this means goodnight, however I initially thought it was "holiday". I'm just standing there and thinking "why did she just say holiday?". So just to confirm, is oyasumi both holiday and goodnight? thanks!

i think holiday is saijitsu ive only heard oyasumi as good night but i could be wrong

its just that in the audio course they said oyasumi is holiday

Konnichiwa! Yes, OYASUMI is both holiday and "good night" It comes from the word YASUMU "to rest". :idea:

i have also heard people sy oyasumi nasai as good night, is a more formal version?

[quo]*Quote from * Chris i have also heard people sy oyasumi nasai as good night, is a more formal version?[/quo] Yes, or atleast I think it would be... Generally speaking longer = more formal.

yeah, nasai just makes it more polite IMO...kind of like "i'm sorry" you can say "gome" just as a informal way while you can say "gomenasai" for a formal sorry.

[quo]*Quote from * K73SK yeah, nasai just makes it more polite IMO...kind of like "i'm sorry" you can say "gome" just as a informal way while you can say "gomenasai" for a formal sorry.[/quo] Actually gomenasai is informal already... gome is informal of informal.... sumimasen is formal shitsure shimasu is more formal shitsure itashimasu is more formaler... I can't think of anymore sorry...

*Minnasan, Konnichiwa!* Hello everybody. *Oyasumi* or the more formal *Oyasuminasai* are used to say "Good night". The difference between the two expressions is exactly like the difference between *Gomen* and *Gomenasai*. It is best to memorize these set expressions and remember to only use *Oyasumi* and *Gomen* with friends and close family members. - Sayaka