I’m sure this has been answered before, but reddit’s search function is terrible.
I’m meeting with a former employer and while he knows I don’t speak much Japanese, I want to at least prepare for the basic greetings.
I know I can speak first and say お久しぶりです, but in the case that he says 久しぶり first, how do I respond? Do I still say お久しぶりです in reply? Or そうですね? Or はい、お久ぶりですね？
Thank you!
6 comments
I’m a total newb but I think a simple そうですね would do the trick. It beats an awkward silence, which there probably would be even if you were fluent in Japanese.
Usually I just ask how they are, (おげんきですか)
You can say お久しぶりですね in reply. The -ne particle at the end helps to make your reply sound like you acknowledge that he said it first. As in: “Yes, indeed, it has been (too) long since we last saw each other.”
When he tells you お久しぶりです, you can reply お久しぶりですね！お元気ですか. It’s ever so slightly formal, so over time the greetings between you may change (especially if you’ve seen each other recently, at which point saying お久しぶりです would obviously be weird), but this is a good starting point.
Another possible answer would be: “(Last name of colleague)さん、こんにちは！お久しぶりですね、お元気ですか。”
I usually say “うん、久しぶりですね”; But you can also say small-talk questions in response
This was asked yesterday…
I know I may be too late….but let me answer your question.
You can say either お久しぶりです (most common) or (はい、) お久ぶりですね？in reply. Emotionally voiced そうですね? will be ok but if unemotionally voiced, it may sound a bit unpolite as a greeting or just cold.