sayonara

/ˈsaɪəˌnɑrə/

Other forms: sayonaras

The word sayonara means "goodbye" or "farewell." When you are seeing your friend off at the airport, you can wave and say, "Sayonara!"

Sayonara is a casual way to say goodbye, similar to phrases like "so long" or "see ya!" You might say sayonara to your traveling grandmother, or say sayonara to a terrible job at the end of a long summer. It's a Japanese word that has been a popular informal word in English since the late 1800s. It literally means "if it is to be that way," combining sayo, "that way," and nara, "if."

Definitions of sayonara

1. noun

   a farewell remark
   synonyms: adieu, adios, arrivederci, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, bye, bye-bye, cheerio, good day, good-by, good-bye, goodby, goodbye, so long

   type of:

   farewell, word of farewell

   an acknowledgment or expression of goodwill at parting