Yes, but bows between family members and close friends are usually very different from the formal bows used in business or other polite settings. When greeting a friend with something like “Hey” or “Long time no see,” people rarely bend deeply at the waist. Still, the head may dip slightly along with the greeting, sometimes so little that the person does not even think of it as bowing.
Small bows are especially common when showing gratitude. A person thanking a friend for doing something may say “thank you” while lightly lowering their head. The same can happen within a family. An everyday “thanks” may be spoken with no bow at all, but when the thanks carry a little more weight, the head may naturally lower.
The depth of the bow is not determined only by how close the relationship is. It can also change with the strength of the gratitude or apology. For a minor mistake, someone may say “sorry” with only a small dip of the head. If they feel genuinely apologetic, they may bow more deeply even to a close friend or family member. Gratitude works in much the same way: the stronger the feeling, the deeper the bow may become.
Giving a deep, formal bow every time you greet a family member or close friend would probably feel unnatural. Rather than seeming especially polite, it could make the relationship feel oddly distant or formal. In ordinary greetings between people who are close, the movement may be no more than a slight nod. When the gratitude or apology is serious, even close friends or family members may bow noticeably more deeply.
