Omochikaeri in Japanese: “to go” or “takeaway”, explained

How to say “to go” or “takeaway” in Japanese

Japanese people would say “omochikaeri” or use its less-polite version, “mochikaeri”. In this blog post, I will explain these two expressions in detail. And also, I will explain how to use the polite expression through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand their difference and how to say “to go” or “takeaway” politely in Japanese. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “omochikaeri”
• Components of “omochikaeri”
  • Example #1: how to say “to go” or “takeaway” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “omochikaeri”
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “omochikaeri”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “omochikaeri”.

• omochikaeri – お持ち帰り (おもちかえり) : a Japanese expression for ‘to go’ or ‘takeaway’.

Very simple. To understand this expression more clearly, however, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.

Components of “omochikaeri”

Grammatically, “omochikaeri” can be broken down into the following two parts:

• o – お : a prefix used to make its following word polite.
• mochikaeri – 持ち帰り (もちかえり) : the noun form of the verb, “mochikaeru”, which means ‘to bring back something to somewhere’.

From these two components, we can understand that “omochikaeri” is literally the polite expression for ‘bringing back something to somewhere’. “Somewhere” is often someone’s home. So, its meaning is often ‘bringing back something to someone’s home’. These Japanese concepts are not completely in line with the English meanings, but they are still very close, I think.

As its components suggest, “omochikaeri” is a polite expression. Japanese native speakers, therefore, use it to refer to an action which someone takes to bring back something to his/her home. On the other hand, when they refer to their own actions, they would omit the prefix to decrease the degree of politeness. So, they would say “mochikaeri”. This is the difference between these two expressions.

Sometimes, native speakers use “omochikaeri” and “mochikaeri” as slang words to mean ‘bringing back someone to somewhere for one night stand’. I don’t know if this is really worth knowing, but this is how native speakers use these expressions.

Then, let me explain how to use “omochikaeri” through the example sentences.

Example #1: how to say “to go” or “takeaway” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• koko – ここ : a demonstrative pronoun referring to a place close to the speaker. In the example, this is used to mean ‘here’.
• de – で : a case particle to indicate a place where someone does something. In the example, this is used after “koko” to indicate the place where the listener eats something.
• meshiagari – 召し上がり (めしあがり) : one conjugation of the verb, “meshiagaru”, which means ‘to eat’ politely. In the example, this is used by the speaker to show his/her respect to the listener.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, this is used after “meshiagari” to make it sound polite.
• ka – か : a sentence-ending particle used to make a question. As its definition suggests, it is used at the end of the example sentence to make the question.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “omochikaeri” to make it sound polite.
• ka – か : the same as explained above.

This is a typical usage of “omochikaeri”. In this example, this is used by the speaker to refer to listener’s action. When we want to say “to go” or “takeaway” politely in Japanese, this expression would be the best choice.

Example #2: another usage of “omochikaeri”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb. In the example, this is used as an adverb to say “yesterday”.
• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make the subject word in the sentence.
• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make the object word in the sentence.
• shi – し : one conjugation of the verb, “suru“, which means ‘to do’ or ‘to perform’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used after “omochikaeri” to make its verb form which means ‘to bring someone to somewhere’.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “omochikaeri shi” to make its past tense form, “omochikaeri shi ta”.

This is a typical usage of “omochikaeri” as a slang word. In this example, this is used to refer to the action he took to take her to his home.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the expression, “omochikaeri”, in detail based on its components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• omochikaeri – お持ち帰り (おもちかえり) : a Japanese expression for ‘to go’ or ‘takeaway’. Grammatically, this is the polite expression of “mochikaeri”. So, when we want to say “to go” or “takeaway” politely in Japanese, this expression would be the best choice. Sometimes, native speakers use this as a slung word to mean ‘taking someone to somewhere for one night stand’.
• mochikaeri – 持ち帰り (もちかえり) : the noun form of the verb, “mochikaeru”, which means ‘to bring back something to somewhere’. Native speakers normally use this to refers to their own actions.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.