>>23041855Great question! The phrase こんにちは is spelled with は (ha) at the end, even though it's pronounced わ (wa). This is due to the historical and grammatical context of the Japanese language.
Why is it こんにちは and not こんにちわ?
Particle は (wa)
The は in こんにちは originally functioned as the topic particle (pronounced wa). The full phrase was something like:
今日(こんにち)はご機嫌いかがですか? (How are you today?)
Over time, the greeting was shortened to just こんにちは, but the particle は remained in its written form.
Historical Spelling Rules
In older Japanese, the particle は was always written as は (ha) but pronounced わ (wa). Even though modern kana usage has changed (e.g., を is now only used as a particle, pronounced wo/o), は as a particle kept its traditional spelling.
Consistency in Writing
Similarly, other greetings like:
こんばんは (Good evening)
おはよう (Good morning, from 早くは…)
also follow this rule because they originally contained the particle は (wa).
Why is it pronounced わ (wa) then?
The particle は is always pronounced "wa" when used as a grammatical marker.
This exception is a remnant of classical Japanese, where pronunciation and spelling didn’t always match (like how "を" is written but pronounced "o").
Modern Usage
While some people (especially in informal contexts like texting) may write こんにちわ for stylistic or cute effect (みたいな表現), the correct and formal spelling remains こんにちは.
Summary:
Written as は (ha) Because it was originally a particle.
Pronounced as わ (wa) Because particle は is always read as わ.
Hope this clears things up! Let me know if you have more questions.
