Formal to Colleague
Workplace · Greeting
本年は大変お世話になりました。どうぞよいお年をお迎えください。 — Thank you very much for everything this year. Please have a wonderful new year. (Workplace · Greeting, Formal to Colleague, JLPT N3)
You
本年は大変お世話になりました。どうぞよいお年をお迎えください。
ほんねんはたいへんおせわになりました。どうぞよいおとしをおむかえください。
Thank you very much for everything this year. Please have a wonderful new year.
Romaji: Honnen wa taihen osewa ni narimashita. Douzo yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai. / Reply Romaji: Kochira koso, yoi otoshi o.
Reply
こちらこそ、よいお年を。
こちらこそ、よいおとしを。
Likewise, have a good year.
Gesture & etiquette
Slight bow (20 degrees) when delivering the farewell. Warm, slightly nostalgic tone — acknowledging a full year together. If possible, exchange the greeting in person rather than by chat. With close colleagues, a soft smile and brief eye contact afterward.
Year-end farewell (held on the last working day of the year, typically December 28-30) follows a fixed pattern: past-tense thanks + wishes for a good new year. 'Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai' (please welcome a good year) is the full polite form; casual shortening to 'yoi otoshi o' is fine between peers. This exchange marks the symbolic close of the work year and starts the New Year mindset.