お辞儀 names the bow; your words carry the message
Use お辞儀 naturally for a bow that accompanies a greeting, thanks, or apology, choose between お辞儀する and お辞儀をする, and distinguish a light 会釈 from a nod of agreement.
お辞儀（おじぎ） is the act of lowering your head or upper body as a bow. In everyday scenes, the bow may accompany a greeting, thanks, an apology, or a respectful goodbye. The movement does not carry one complete message by itself. The words and situation tell you whether someone is saying hello, showing gratitude, apologizing, or simply acknowledging another person.
The most useful spelling in ordinary writing is お辞儀. 御辞儀 is also correct; it writes the polite prefix お in kanji as 御, and that fully kanji form can look heavier on the page than お辞儀. おじぎ is easy to read and appears naturally in learner materials or writing aimed at younger readers. All of these forms appear in real text, and お辞儀 is the most common, so it is a dependable default when you write the word yourself.
Two basic verb shapes are natural. お辞儀する treats the word directly as a する verb. お辞儀をする presents お辞儀 as a noun followed by をする. There is no important difference in the physical action. You will also hear the connected form お辞儀をして, especially when another action follows: お辞儀をして、あいさつする. The person receiving the bow is commonly marked by に, as in 店長にお辞儀する.
Adverbs describe what was visible without turning the action into a rigid etiquette chart. 軽くお辞儀する reports a light bow. 深くお辞儀する reports a deeper, more deliberate movement, and 深々とお辞儀する is a vivid phrase for an even deeper bow. These descriptions do not create universal categories with fixed angles. A deeper bow may accompany serious thanks or an apology in one scene, but the surrounding words remain essential.
One nearby word is especially useful. 会釈する（えしゃくする） means making a light bow or nod as a greeting, such as when passing a neighbor or coworker. It is a compact choice when the light greeting itself is the point. By contrast, うなずく usually describes nodding to show understanding, agreement, or acknowledgment. A small head movement can look similar from a distance, but うなずく answers or acknowledges something, while 会釈する greets someone. お辞儀する remains the broader word for bowing.
One Saturday at the bakery
Rina is helping at a neighborhood bakery’s Saturday event. She arrives before opening and sees the manager preparing the counter. Her first bow belongs to an ordinary workplace greeting.
「おはようございます」と言って、店長にお辞儀をしました。Here the greeting words make the purpose clear. 店長に identifies the person receiving the bow, and お辞儀をしました sounds like a straightforward report of what Rina did. She could also say 店長にお辞儀しました without changing the basic meaning.
Just before opening, Rina steps outside with a sign. A neighbor walks past the storefront. They know each other by sight, so neither stops for a conversation.
近所の人と店先ですれ違い、軽くお辞儀をしました。This is the kind of brief greeting that can also be described as 会釈しました. The phrase 軽くお辞儀をしました shows the movement; 会釈しました labels the light greeting more compactly. If the neighbor had asked a question and Rina moved her head to mean “yes,” うなずきました would be the clearer word.
During the busy morning, Rina leaves her wallet beside the outdoor sign. A customer notices it and brings it back inside. Rina’s response combines a visible bow with explicit thanks.
財布を届けてくれた人に、深くお辞儀をしてお礼を言いました。深く tells us that the bow was deliberate. お礼を言いました tells us why. The sentence does not need an angle or a named etiquette category. It gives the reader the information that actually matters in the scene: someone helped Rina, and she responded with both words and a bow.
Later, the manager discovers that a customer received the wrong bag. This time the bow accompanies an apology.
店長はお客様にお辞儀をして、丁寧に謝りました。The verb 謝りました carries the apology. The bow supports it, but お辞儀しました alone would not tell us exactly what the manager said or felt. This is why translating every bow as “apologize” causes trouble. Describe the bow with お辞儀 and describe the apology with 謝る, すみません, or another expression that fits the actual conversation.
At closing time, Rina and the manager thank the people who came. The compact する-verb form fits naturally in their final action.
イベントの終わりに、二人は来てくれた人たちにお辞儀しました。The story has used the same broad word across a greeting, a light acknowledgment, thanks, an apology, and a goodbye. That range is normal. What changes is not a secret dictionary meaning hidden inside the movement. It is the relationship between the bow, the spoken words, and the moment.
A practical way to choose is to start with what you are reporting. If you simply saw a person bow, use お辞儀する or お辞儀をする. If the brief passing greeting matters, 会釈する may be more precise. If someone responded “yes” with their head, use うなずく. Add 軽く, 深く, or 深々と only when the visible manner matters, and let the words and context explain why the person bowed.
Pop quiz
A senior brought you documents that you had left behind. Which sentence clearly reports both deliberate thanks and a bow?
- A. 書類を届けてくれた先輩とすれ違って、会釈をしました。
- B. 書類を届けてくれた先輩に、深くお辞儀をしてお礼を言いました。
- C. 書類を届けてくれた先輩に、うなずいて賛成しました。
Show answer
B書類を届けてくれた先輩に、深くお辞儀をしてお礼を言いました。
深くお辞儀をしてお礼を言いました names both the deliberate bow and the spoken thanks. うなずいて賛成しました reports a nod of agreement, which is a different message. 会釈をしました describes only a light passing greeting and omits the act of thanking the senior.
Language reference
Vocabulary
- お辞儀
- a bow made by lowering the head or upper body, often with a greeting, thanks, apology, or respectful goodbyenoun; suru verb
- 会釈
- a light bow or nod used as a greetingnoun; suru verb
- うなずく
- to nod, especially to show agreement, understanding, or acknowledgmentgodan verb
Grammar pattern
- お辞儀する／お辞儀をする
to bow; two natural ways to combine the noun with する
Form お辞儀 + する, or お辞儀 + を + する
Register ordinary in conversation and general writing
- person に + お辞儀する
bow to a person
Form person receiving the bow + に + お辞儀する
Register ordinary and widely usable
- 軽く／深く／深々と + お辞儀する
describe the visible manner or depth of a bow
Form manner adverb + お辞儀する or お辞儀をする
Register descriptive, not a fixed etiquette classification
Meaning map
お辞儀
a broad bowing action whose communicative purpose becomes clear from the surrounding words and situation
The depth of a bow does not by itself guarantee one meaning, and this map describes language choices rather than universal angle or etiquette rules.
A bow accompanies a spoken greeting or respectful goodbye
店長にお辞儀をして、あいさつしました。
I bowed to the manager and greeted them.
The greeting words identify the purpose; お辞儀 describes the physical action.
A bow accompanies explicit gratitude
深くお辞儀をして、お礼を言いました。
I bowed deeply and expressed my thanks.
深く reports the visible manner, while お礼を言う carries the message of thanks.
A bow accompanies an apology
お客様にお辞儀をして、謝りました。
I bowed to the customer and apologized.
謝る identifies the apology. The bow supports the interaction but does not replace the apology verb.