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If they are translated literally it gives "today is" and "tonight is".

Is it some sentence that got shortened ?

(Also not sure how to classify this question so forgive me if I used the wrong
tags...)
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2013-04-22T10:57:58.203
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2014-04-01T05:02:55.323
2014-04-01T05:02:55.323
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question
set-phrases history
Why are こんにちは and こんばんは used for greetings?
They do appear to be shortenings, but perhaps not of any _particular_ wording.
大辞林 says they're short for sentences like the following:

  * こんにちは is short for sentences such as [今日は御機嫌いかがですか](http://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%8A%E6%97%A5%E3%81%AF)
  * こんばんは is short for sentences such as [今晩はよい晩です](http://kotobank.jp/word/%E4%BB%8A%E6%99%A9%E3%81%AF)

In each case, 大辞林 marks the sentence in quotes with など, implying it doesn't
necessarily come from those sentences _specifically_ , but sentences _such as_
the above. The Iwanami Kokugo Jiten does the same thing; when I looked up
these words, I found the following examples in 「」 quotes:

  * こんにちは is short for sentences such as 「今日はよいお天気です」
  * こんばんは is short for sentences such as 「今晩はお寒うございます」

In each case, the dictionary marks the sentences with など to illustrate that
they're the sorts of sentences that _could_ complete こんにちは or こんばんは, not that
those specific words are implied by the greetings.
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2013-04-22T11:24:19.807
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2014-03-31T14:57:41.890
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answer