Learn the Top 25 Must-Know Japanese Phrases!

[yuiyoshida]

[trusty elf]

1. beautiful language

cute video

[Nitram]

2. In context, "hai" can mean "yes", "no" or "maybe".

It is an automatic response in many situations that doesn't necessarily mean anything more than that the person heard what you said and understands it.

[yuiyoshida]

3. 違う (chigau) / 違います chigaimasu (its different)

Hai= yes ハイ (formal)
iie = no いいえ (formal)
tabun = maybe 多分
wakarimasu understand わかります
wakarimashita understood わかりました
unn うん yes (non-formal)
uhuh ううん (non formal no)
ohayou gozaimasu おはようございます good morning (formal) Ohayou
ごきげにょ Gokigenyo (hello, goodbye, how are you?) old style Japanese
konnichiwa こんいちわあ good afternoon
konbanwa (Konbanha) good evening こんばんは
oyasuminasai おやすみなさい good night (formal) Ohayou
mata ne また ね! See you later...じゃ また ね ( jyaa mata Well, later than..) でわ また ね dewa mata (well, later)
Ogenki desuka? (how is your health) おげんきですか (said to people you know)
Chōshi wa dōdesu ka (how is it going?) 調子はどうですか (said to people you don't know)

[Nitram]

4. I lived in Japan for 21 years and my wife is Japanese. I'll try to explain my point better.

American businesses negotiating with Japanese companies learned a long time ago that "hai" does not necessarily mean "yes". Some businesses took the response of "hai" during contract negotiations to mean "yes" and were shocked when they found out that their Japanese partners didn't mean "yes" at all. As I stated above, the meaning of "hai" depends on the context.

You might find this article helpful in understanding my point.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/various-meaning-word-yes-japan-shingo-yano-pmp-pmi-acp