Table of Contents
Pronunciation
Definition of あけおめ (Akeome)
あけおめ (akeome) means “Happy New Year”, a casual Japanese New Year’s greeting. It is casually used by young people when they meet their friends in early January. When your friends say this greeting to you, simply repeat the same phrase to reply to them.
Polite Form of akeome
In fact, あけおめ is an abbreviation of “明けましておめでとうございます”, which sounds more polite and formal than the abbreviated phrase. This expression consists of the two parts “明けまして” and “おめでとうございます”. The former is a polite te-form of the verb “明ける” meaning “(something) ends and turns into a new state”(*), and the latter means “congratulations”. Therefore, the phrase literally means “(The last year) has ended and turned into a new year, congratulations!”. Since あけおめ is a casual way of saying “明けましておめでとうございます”, you should use the original expression in a formal context.
(*) 明ける is a rare word used only in a few phrases, including “夜が明ける” meaning “night is over” and ”梅雨が明ける” meaning “rainy season is over”.
Meaning of ことよろ (koto yoro)
Some people would go on to say “ことよろ (kotoyoro)” after akeome. ことよろ (koto yoro) stands for “今年(ことし)もよろしくお願(ねが)いします” and means “This year too, let’s get along well with each other”. The latter phrase “よろしくお願いします” is a very common Japanese greeting, which is used when you ask someone to do something, or when you show your willingness to build a good relationship with someone (in this case, you’re sort of asking them to have a good relationship with you). As in akeome, you should use the unshortened expression “今年もよろしくお願いします” in a formal situation (e.g. when you greet someone older than you). In fact, koto yoro sounds more casual and younger than akeome and therefore is mainly used among teenagers.
Other Japanese New-Year Vocab/Culture
20 Japanese Words and Culture for Christmas and New Year
Superstition about 初夢 (Hatsuyume, “New Year’s First Dream”) in Japan
Hatsuyume: Superstition about the Dream on New Year’s Day in Japan
Example Sentences
Ex1
あけましておめでとうございます。今年もよろしくお願いします
Happy New Year! And this year too, let’s get along well with each other.
Ex2 (A casual version of Ex1)
あけおめ!今年もよろしく!
Ex2 (A more casual version of Ex1)
あけおめ!ことよろ!
Synonyms: 明けましておめでとうございます
Synonyms in English: Happy New Year
Related words and phrases: 明ける (be over) おめでとう (congratulations), よろしく
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