sayonara

[sahy-uh-nahr-uh, sah-yaw-nah-rah]

interjection

1. farewell; goodbye.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sayonara¹

First recorded in 1860–65; from Japanese sayō-nara, shortening of sayō-naraba, equivalent to sayō “thus” + naraba “if it be”

Example Sentences

“I never really wanted to do one because I always thought it was like a bit of a farewell, like a sayonara, a swan song,” the lead singer and songwriter says.

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Saying sayonara to the slurpees — and the M&Ms, he added, and the Kit Kat bars — was, pardon the pun, bittersweet.

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While a reporter was in the middle of asking a question, the San Diego Padres right-hander said in Japanese to no one in particular, “It’s a sayonara.”

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Omitted from the sayonara was any celebration of the broader Fox News product.

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And everything about Thursday’s stop at Capital One Arena sure looked and sounded like sayonara.

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