Good friends and families support one another. It’s always good to encourage and cheer up each other especially when we are in a difficult situation. Here are 7 most common and useful phrases to cheer someone up in Japanese.
1.頑張って!
Ganbatte!
(Good luck!/ Keep it up!/ Do your best!)
This is one of the most common ways to cheer someone up.
頑張る(Ganbaru) means to try. If you would like to be a bit more polite, you can add ください (kudasai) at the end and say 頑張ってください(Ganbatte kudasai). And if you would like to say “Let’s do our best” to your colleagues or friends working together, 頑張ろう(Ganbarou) can be used.
2.幸運を祈ります
Kouun wo inori masu
(Best of luck to you/I’ll keep my fingers crossed)
This is a very formal way of wishing someone’s luck. 幸運(Kouun) means good luck, and 祈ります (Inorimasu) means “I pray”. Together, the phrase means “I pray for your good luck/Best of luck to you”.
3.大丈夫ですよ
Daijoubu desuyo
(It will be alright/You’ll be OK)
大丈夫(Daijoubu) means “Alright”. You can add certainty to it by saying よ(Yo) at the end. Another way of saying it is 大丈夫だよ(Daoijoubu dayo), or you could simply say 大丈夫.
4.考えすぎないで
Kangae suginaide
(Don’t think/worry too much)
考える(Kangaeru) means to think, and 考えすぎる(Kangae sugiru) is to think too much. To make it a negative sentence, 〜ない(nai) can be added. で(de) at the end is like saying, “Please”.
5.元気を出して
Genki wo dashite
(Cheer up)
It is often said to someone who’s feeling down to cheer him/her up.
6.応援しています
Ouen shiteimasu
(I’m cheering you on)
応援(Ouen) is to cheer. 〜しています(shiteimasu) means “I’m -ing”. The phrase can be used to cheer up your friends and many fans of idols/athletes use this to tell that they are rooting for them.
7.あきらめないで
Akirame naide
(Never give up)
あきらめる(Akirameri) means to quit or give up. By adding 〜ないで(Naide/Do not) at the end, you can get the phrase “Never give up” .
There is another useful phrase, which is 気をつけて(Kiwotsukete/Be careful)
This phrase is often used with 〜に (Ni) right infront to specify what to be careful. For example, you could say 風邪に気をつけて(Kaze ni kiwotsukete), which means be careful of the cold/Don’t catch a cold (風邪 means cold). So if you would like to say, “Be careful of the coronavirus”, you could say コロナウィルスに気をつけて(Coronavirus ni kiwotsukete).
Thank you for reading today’s post.
See you next time!
Taka
*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my music below.
