Home›Lesson Plans›World Languages›Japanese · Grade 3

Japanese Greetings & Farewells

Third graders begin Japanese (日本語, Nihongo) with the words that open and close every conversation — greetings like こんにちは (konnichiwa) and farewells like さようなら (sayōnara). Sorting hellos from goodbyes builds a first, friendly foothold in the language.

Grade 3Greetings & Farewells40 minutes1 class periodACTFL / World LanguagesExplicit teaching4 StandardsACTFL
Start the Lesson
Assign or share this lesson
Share to Google Classroom Share to Microsoft Teams

Copy link works with Canvas, Schoology, Moodle and any other LMS — paste it in as a resource or assignment.

Lesson at a Glance

Everything you need before the bell rings

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to…

  • ✓Say Japanese greetings.
  • ✓Say farewells.
  • ✓Sort hellos from goodbyes.
  • ✓Greet a partner.
Essential Question

Every conversation begins and ends with a friendly word. What are the Japanese greetings and farewells?

0
Lesson Phases
0
Vocabulary Terms
0
Standards Aligned
0
Interactive Task
Sort It · Interactive

Greeting or Farewell?

Project this and sort each Japanese phrase into Greetings (hello) or Farewells (goodbye).

👋 Sort each — a greeting or a farewell?Try it
👋 Greetings (hello)
👋 Farewells (goodbye)
Tap a phrase, then tap a box.
The Lesson · Language Flow (Warm-Up · Present · Practice · Speak · Reflect)

40 minutes, five moves

Tap any phase to open the teacher moves and student actions.

1

Warm-Up — Hello, Japan!

5 min

Every conversation begins and ends with a word — what are they in Japanese?

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say “Konnichiwa!”
  • Ask what it means.
  • Set the goal.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Listen.
  • Guess.
  • Get ready.
2

Present — Greetings & Farewells

11 min

Students learn.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Send students to Greeting or Farewell?
  • Sort each one.
  • Say them aloud.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Sort.
  • Say.
  • Repeat.
3

Practice — Practice

11 min

Students practice.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say a morning greeting.
  • Say a goodbye.
  • Explain the difference.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say it.
  • Say it.
  • Explain.
4

Speak — Speak

9 min

Students speak.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Greet a partner in Japanese.
  • Say goodbye.
  • Bow politely.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Greet.
  • Say it.
  • Bow.
5

Reflect — Reflect

4 min

Students close.

👩‍🏫 Teacher Moves

  • Say a greeting.
  • Say a farewell.
  • Complete the exit ticket.

🎒 Student Actions

  • Say one.
  • Say one.
  • Complete the exit ticket.
Standards Alignment

Built to the standards you report on

Aligned to the ACTFL World-Readiness Standards for Learning Languages (Novice-Low).

ACTFL
Communication 1.1

Interpersonal: greet others.

ACTFL
Communication 1.2

Interpretive: understand greetings.

ACTFL
Cultures 2.1

Explore greeting customs (bowing).

ACTFL
Communication 1.3

Presentational: say greetings.

Differentiation

One lesson, every learner

Multilingual Learners

ELL / EMERGING READERS
  • Greeting cards with romaji.
  • Sentence frame: “___ means ___.”
  • Model pronunciation.

Support & Access

IEP / 504
  • Start with konnichiwa & sayōnara.
  • Sort one at a time.
  • Repeat aloud.

Stretch & Extend

GIFTED / EARLY FINISHERS
  • Add ohayō gozaimasu (polite).
  • Greet at different times.
  • Practice bowing.
Materials

What to gather

  • 📽️Screen / board
  • 👋Greeting cards
  • 💻Greeting or Farewell?
  • 🗾A map of Japan
  • ✏️Notebooks
  • 🎫Exit-ticket slips
Vocabulary

Key terms — hover for a quick definition

あいさつ (aisatsu)greetingこんにちは (konnichiwa)helloおはよう (ohayō)good morningこんばんは (konbanwa)good eveningさようなら (sayōnara)goodbyeまたね (mata ne)see youおやすみ (oyasumi)good nightありがとう (arigatō)thank you
Evaluate

Exit Ticket

Preview the three formative checks. Tap “Sample answer” to see what mastery looks like — hide them before you print for students.

QUESTION 1
How do you say “hello” in Japanese?
こんにちは (Konnichiwa).
QUESTION 2
How do you say “goodbye”?
さようなら (Sayōnara).
QUESTION 3
What does おはよう (ohayō) mean?
Good morning.

Reflect: greetings & farewells.

Have students greet a partner with “Konnichiwa” and say goodbye with “Sayōnara.” A printable Japanese greetings sheet is in the World Languages library.

Study · Flashcards

Study the key terms

Tap a card to flip it, then rate whether you knew it. Built from this lesson’s vocabulary.

🃏 Japanese Greetings & FarewellsFlip
Card 1
Term
Tap to flip →
Meaning
0

Nice work!

Practice · Quiz

Check your understanding

A quick self-check with instant feedback, drawn from this lesson’s key terms.

📝 Japanese Greetings & FarewellsQuiz
Score: 0
1 / 6
Question 1
0%

Nice work!

Practice · Worksheet

Printable worksheet

A print-and-go review sheet with a built-in answer key. Tap “Show answer key” to reveal answers, or print the clean version for students.

🖨️ Japanese Greetings & FarewellsPrint
Name: ________________________
Date: ____________

Part A · Write the word that matches each meaning

Word bank: あいさつ (aisatsu), ありがとう (arigatō), おはよう (ohayō), おやすみ (oyasumi), こんにちは (konnichiwa), こんばんは (konbanwa), さようなら (sayōnara), またね (mata ne)
  1. see you
  2. good evening
  3. good night
  4. goodbye
  5. hello
  6. good morning
  7. thank you
  8. greeting

Part B · Show what you learned

  1. How do you say “hello” in Japanese?
  2. How do you say “goodbye”?
  3. What does おはよう (ohayō) mean?
Answer key — Part A: 1) またね (mata ne) · 2) こんばんは (konbanwa) · 3) おやすみ (oyasumi) · 4) さようなら (sayōnara) · 5) こんにちは (konnichiwa) · 6) おはよう (ohayō) · 7) ありがとう (arigatō) · 8) あいさつ (aisatsu)
Part B: 1) こんにちは (Konnichiwa). 2) さようなら (Sayōnara). 3) Good morning.