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Renge usually greets people with "Nyanpasu". The sub says "Meowning" which
probably comes from "Morning" as a greeting. But "Morning" as a greeting in
Japanese is _Ohayo_ which is quite different than "Nyanpasu".

[here's a YouTube video of how Renge said
it](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAEbJs-rnVc)

I don't really understand Japanese, maybe it comes from another word?


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japanese-language non-non-biyori
Where does the word "Nyanpasu" come from?


I have looked this up before and found
[this](http://vultureofcritique.wordpress.com/2013/12/25/the-etymology-
phonetics-and-linguistics-of-nyanpasu-could-be-considered-funky/):

> But have you considered why “Nyanpasu” is a creative coinage of a new term
> in Japanese?
>
> Japanese people and linguists may disagree on the exact etymology of the
> greeting “Osu!” This greeting is often used by people who are exerting
> themselves physically, such as karate students. (“Osu” is customarily used
> by men, and it is customarily used to greet people who are not older than
> the speaker. Thus it is a little funky when we see Renge, who is female,
> using it to address people who are older than she is.)
>
> If we wanted to combine the cat-like meowing sound of “NYAN” to “OSU,” why
> wouldn’t we just say, “NYAN-OSU”?
>
> Think about the way we say “senpai.” The “p” sound is a voiceless bilabial
> stop. The “n” sound is a nasal. When the nasal precedes the stop, it is very
> easy to [slur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s_law) “senpai” into
> “sempai.”
>
> When using the nasal sound “n” before a word boundary, it is very easy to
> slur the sounds, and in the case of “nyanpasu” the voiceless bilabial stop
> replaces the conventional word boundary.
>
> That could be considered funky.

Saying it's a combination of nyan and osu, but one that rolls off the tongue a
lot more smoothly.

It seems like a decent explanation to start with.


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I think it's just her random, meaningless word for "Good morning".

I found an [interview](http://mantan-
web.jp/2013/11/09/20131108dog00m200066000c.html) with the producer of Non Non
Biyori.

> －－主要キャラクターの宮内れんげのせりふ「にゃんぱすー」はどういう意味があるのですか？
>
>
> 小学1年生が考えた「おはこんばんちわ」的な（笑い）、いろいろなときに対応できるあいさつです。また、れんげというキャラクターは1年生ですが、いろんな意味でませています。知識も多彩で通知表もオール5です。
>
> What's the meaning of "Nyanpasu" from main character Renge Miyauchi?
>
> It's "Ohakonbanchiwa"-like. (laughing) A greeting phrase created by a grade
> 1 elementary school student. It fits many situations. Renge is grade 1, but
> she is too grown-up in many ways, and has lots of knowledge and a straight-A
> report card.

"Ohakonbanchiwa" is a greeting used in the old anime
[Dr.Slump](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Slump), created by Akira Toriyama,
the author of Dragonball. "Ohakonbanchiwa" is a combination of "Ohayou" (Good
morning), "Konnichiwa" (Hello) and "Konbanwa" (Good evening).


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