Okaeri is more than just ‘welcome home’ in Japanese, explained

What does “okaeri” mean in Japanese?

Japanese native speakers use “okaeri” mainly in two different ways: as the shortened version of “okaerinasai” to mean ‘welcome home’; as the polite expression of “kaeri” to mean ‘return’. In this blog post, I will explain these two “okaeri” and how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “okaeri” properly in Japanese. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Shortened version of “okaerinasai”
  • Example #1: how to use “okaeri” as an interjection
• Polite expression of “kaeri”
• Components of “okaeri”
  • Example #2: how to use “okaeri” as a noun
• Summary

Shortened version of “okaerinasai”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “okaeri” as the shortened version of “okaerinasai”.

• okaeri – おかえり : the shortened version of the interjection, “okaerinasai”, which means ‘welcome home’ or ‘welcome back’ in Japanese.

Shortened forms sound more casual than their original expressions. “Okaeri” does as well. So, it is suitable for casual situations. Japanese people quite often use it to say ‘welcome home’ to their family members or ‘welcome back’ to their friends or such. When we want to say “welcome home” or “welcome back” casually in Japanese, therefore, “okaeri” is the best choice. For this purpose, of course, we can use the original expression, “okaerinasai”. In casual conversations, however, it sounds too much polite and formal.

Then, let me explain how to use this word through the example below.

Example #1: how to use “okaeri” as an interjection

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• hayakat – 早かっ (はやかっ) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “hayai”, which means ‘early’ 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 or adjective 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 “hayakat” to make its past tense form, “hayakat ta”.
• ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle used to make listener’s agreement in a soft way. As its definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to make listener’s agreement. It has been reflected as “aren’t you?” in translation.

This is a typical usage of “okaeri” as an interjection. In this example, it works to mean ‘welcome home’ in Japanese.

When “okaeri” works as an interjection, it is often in hiragana; when it works as the polite expression of a noun, it is often in a combination of kanji and hiragana. Next, then, let me explain the latter one in detail.

Polite expression of “kaeri”

Below are the definition and meaning of “okaeri” as the polite expression of “kaeri”.

• okaeri – お帰り (おかえり) : the polite expression of the noun, “kaeri”, which means ‘return’ in Japanese.

Its definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its components in detail.

Components of “okaeri”

Grammatically, this type of “okaeri” can be broken down into the following two parts.

• o – お : a prefix making its following word polite.
• kaeri – 帰り (かえり) : a noun meaning ‘return’ in Japanese.

From these two components, we can understand that “okaeri” is literally the polite expression of “kaeri”. And actually, it is. Japanese native speakers use it to refer to someone’s return in a polite way in Japanese.

Then, let me explain how to use this type of “okaeri” through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to use “okaeri” as a noun

Below are the new words and particles used in the example sentence.

• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “okaeri” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• osokat – 遅かっ (おそかっ) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “osoi”, which means ‘late’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : the same as explained in the last example. In this example, this is used after “osokat” to make its past tense form, “osokat ta”.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun, adjective, auxiliary verb, or phrase, to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form.
• ne – ね : the same as explained in the last example. Also in this example, it works at the end of the sentence to make listener’s agreement in a soft way.

This is a typical usage of “okaeri” as a noun. In the example, it refers to the return of “you”. When we want to refer to someone’s return in a polite way in Japanese, this noun would be the best choice.

The Japanese sentence has been translated as ‘you came back late, didn’t you?’, but its original nuance is more like ‘your return was late, wasn’t it?’ Both are more or less the same, though.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the two different types of “okaeri” in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• okaeri – おかえり : the shortened version of the interjection, “okaerinasai”, which means ‘welcome home’ or ‘welcome back’ in Japanese. When we want to say “welcome home” or “welcome back” casually in Japanese, this is the best choice.
• okaeri – お帰り (おかえり) : the polite expression of the noun, “kaeri”, which means ‘return’ in Japanese. When we want to refer to someone’s return in a polite way in Japanese, this would be the best choice.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.