What does “itterasshai” mean in Japanese?
I don’t think that “itterasshai” has a perfect translation in English. In textbooks, however, it is often translated as “see you later”, “have a good day”, or such. Probably, many Japanese learners know this phrase well as it is widely used in Japanese movies, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, I will explain what this phrase really means in Japanese based on its grammatical components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “itterasshai” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “itterasshai”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “itterasshai”.
- itterasshai – 行ってらっしゃい (いってらっしゃい) : a Japanese phrase often translated into English as “see you later”, “have a good day”, “take care”, “come straight home”, or such.
Native speakers use this phrase to say goodbye to someone when they know they will see him/her later again. So, its concept is similar to that of “see you later”, I think.
The definition and meanings are not so difficult. To understand this phrase more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.
Breakdown of “itterasshai”
Grammatically, “itterasshai” consists of the following three parts:
- it – 行っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the phrase, it has been conjugated for the better connection with the following word.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its te form, “it te”. A te formed word is often used to make a chronological order in a sentence.
- rasshai – らっしゃい : derived from “irasshai”. It is the command form of “irassharu” which means ‘to come’, ‘to go’, or ‘to be’ politely in Japanese.
From these three components, we can understand that “itterasshai” literally means ‘go and then come’ politely in Japanese. So, we can consider it as a Japanese phrase wishing both a safe departure and a safe way home. And actually, it is. Japanese people use this phrase to wish a safe departure and a safe way home when someone is leaving.
When we meet new Japanese phrases, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of phrases they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “itterasshai” through the detailed check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “itterasshai” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: when and how to use “itterasshai”
itterasshai. kiwotsukete – 行ってらっしゃい。気をつけて (いってらっしゃい。きをつけて)
See you later. Please take care.
Below is the new phrase used in the example sentence.
- kiwotsukete – 気をつけて (きをつけて) : a Japanese phrase meaning ‘take care’.
This is a typical usage of “itterasshai”. Native speakers use this phrase to say “goodbye” to someone when they know they will see him/her later again. Actually, in Japan, parents use it every morning to say “goodbye and come home safely” to their children. They tend to use it together with “kiwotsukete” which means ‘take care’ in Japanese like the example shows.
Example #2: another usage of “itterasshai”
kanojo wa kare ni 「itterasshai」 to it ta – 彼女は彼に「行ってらっしゃい」と言った (かのじょはかれに「いってらっしゃい」といった)
She said “see you later” to him.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say to whom an action is directed. In the example, this is used after “kare” to say to whom “kanojo” said “itterasshai”.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after “itterasshai” to indicate what “kanojo” said to “kare”.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu”, which means ‘to say’, ‘to tell’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is another typical usage of “itterasshai”. In the example, it has been translated as just “see you later”, but the Japanese sentence contain the nuance of “go and come back safely”. It’s worth knowing, I think.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “itterasshai” in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- itterasshai – 行ってらっしゃい (いってらっしゃい) : a Japanese phrase often translated into English as “see you later”, “have a good day”, “take care”, “come straight home”, or such. The three components of this phrase literally mean ‘go and then come’ politely in Japanese. Grammatically, therefore, we can consider this as a Japanese phrase wishing both a safe departure and a safe way home. Actually, Japanese people use this phrase to wish a safe departure and a safe way home when someone is leaving. Especially, parents use it every morning to say “goodbye and come home safely” to their children.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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