さようなら

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Japanese

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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

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

Interjection

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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)(あさ)モウ一度(いちど)、オ(ばあ)サンノ(ところ)()(くだ)サイ。コノ(けい)(りゃく)(ほか)ニハオ(ばあ)サンノ()カラ、()()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

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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

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Use of these terms depends on the situation.

Noun

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さようなら (sayōnara

  1. [circa 1915] a farewell, a goodbye

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN