Welcome to the next video and article series with tutor Hidee! In this video, Hidee talks about four very common expressions in Japanese: いってきます、いってらっしゃい、ただいま and おかえり. In today’s lesson you will learn how to differentiate between these expressions and how to use them naturally in daily spoken Japanese.
| Table of Contents [Short Introduction] [いってきます & いってらっしゃい] [ただいま & おかえり] |
[Short Introduction]
The phrases, ittekimasu, itterasshai, tadaima, okaerinasai symbolize the Japanese spirit so well that once you grasp the nuance of their meaning you will have a deeper understanding of Japanese culture. Although the words are easily translated to English, the Japanese spirit behind them is somewhat lost in translation.[いってきます & いってらっしゃい]
Let’s start with the two expressions “いってきます” and “いってらっしゃい”. If they are about to leave a place, mainly their home or the office, a Japanese person will say “いってきます” to the remaining people. The closest and most literal translation is “I’ll go and I come back”, but a more natural translation would be “See you later”. People remaining inside the home or the office then reply by saying “いってらっしゃい”. This literally means “Please go and come back”. This phrase is also close to a “See you later”, but can also translate to “Have a good day”, or “Take care”. However, none of those expressions truly express the spirit behind the word. “いってきます” expresses that “I will be going now, but do not worry, I will safely return”, while “いってらっしゃい” indicates that “You will be leaving soon but please do come back safely”. Example:| アイスを買いにいってきます |
| A: I am going to buy ice cream. |
| ありがとう！いってらっしゃい |
| B: Thanks! See you later. |
[ただいま & おかえり]
Next, let’s move on to “ただいま” and “おかえり”. Similar to “いってきます” and “いってらっしゃい”, the two phrases that go hand-in-hand, “ただいま” and “おかえり” express one’s safe re turn. Example:| A: I am back! I bought us Vanilla ice creams. |
| ただいま！バニラアイス買ってきたよー |
| B: Welcome back! Thank you! |
| おかえり！ありがとう！ |
These expressions can be learned quickly, as they are such a deeply ingrained part of Japanese culture that they are frequently used by everyone in daily life and subsequently in fiction as well. The next time you are reading a Manga or watching an Anime in Japanese, watch out for all the different forms.
That’s it for today. If you have any questions, you can always clear them up by booking a lesson with one of our native Japanese tutors. See you next time!
単語リスト（Vocabulary list）
| いってきます | See you later, I’m leaving |
| いってらっしゃい | See you later, take care |
| おかえり（なさい） | Welcome home, welcome back |
| ただいま | I’m home, I just came back |