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01-15-2009, 07:57 PM
Konnichiwa literally means "How is this day?"
Look at the kanji: 今日は. THIS + DAY + Topic marker. It's likely a shortened form of an older phrase, Konnichiwadoudesuka.
And English is what makes the whole "good afternoon" thing confusing. In US English, we tend never to say "Good day." Thus, the best translation for "konnichiwa" is never even uttered by native US English speakers. Hence, why you think "konnichiwa" means "good afternoon."
Last edited by KyleGoetz : 01-15-2009 at 07:57 PM.
Reason: edited to fix my stupid error calling "wa" the "subject" marker.
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