What's the difference between "shitsurei shimasu", "shitsurei", "sore de wa", and "sayōnara"?


When saying goodbye, can someone tell me when each of these would be used and
what the differences between them are?




「さようなら」 is certainly the most general word for saying "goodbye". However, it
does sound a bit like "farewell"...

About 「失礼{しつれい}します」 now. 「失礼{しつれい}」 means "impoliteness", so literally,
「失礼{しつれい}します」 means "I'm being impolite", "I'm doing something impolite".
Contextually, it means "I'm leaving", usually said while bending.

「します」 is the polite form of 「する」, which means "to do". It can be dropped, so
the expression becomes 「失礼{しつれい}」. I cannot see a situation where this can be
said all alone, except when leaving friends. This is not impolite, but pretty
familiar.

「それでは」 now, is a bit different, in that it does not mean "goodbye" by itself.
It's more or less the same as 「では」, and it basically means "so", as in, for
instance:

> それでは、行{い}きましょうか。
>
> So, shall we go?

When used as a way to say goodbye, it is a shortcut for 「それでは、また会{あ}いましょう」,
"So, let's meet again". In casual (not necessarily with close friends)
conversations, 「会{あ}いましょう」 is often dropped, and a 「ね」 can be appended. Most
of the time, the 「では」 is contracted in 「じゃ」. So here are a few examples of
what the original 「それでは、また会{あ}いましょう」 can become in casual conversations:

  * じゃー
  * じゃねー
  * またね
  * それじゃー

