What does “youkoso” mean in Japanese?
Japanese people say “youkoso” when they welcome guests politely. So, it means more or less ‘welcome’ in Japanese. Its usage and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this phrase in detail based on its components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “youkoso” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “youkoso”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “youkoso”.
- youkoso – ようこそ : an adverb, but often used as just a phrase to welcome guests politely in Japanese. Actually, this is often translated into English as “welcome”.
Japanese people use this phrase to welcome guests with a polite attitude. The usage of this phrase is actually very similar to that of “welcome” in English. Interestingly, however, the literal interpretation of the phrase is a bit different from its role. To understand this point more clearly, let me explain the grammatical components of “youkoso” in detail, one by one.
Components of “youkoso”
“Youkoso” consists of the following two components:
- you – よう : a word derived from “yoku” which is one conjugation of the i-adjective, “yoi“, meaning ‘well’ or such in Japanese.
- koso – こそ : a binding particle used after a word to emphasize it.
From these two components, we can understand that “youkoso” is literally an emphasized phrase meaning ‘well’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation doesn’t seem to be in line with the usage and meaning explained above, but is still understandable. To tell the truth, “youkoso” can work to admire or applaud the action which someone takes, besides welcoming someone with a polite attitude. In a way, saying “welcome” in Japanese can be considered as telling guests, say, “you well walked all the way to here”.
When we meet new 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 “youkoso” through the detailed check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “youkoso” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “welcome to” in Japanese
watashi no ie ni youkoso – 私の家にようこそ (わたしのいえにようこそ)
Welcome to my house.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
- ie – 家 (いえ) : a noun meaning ‘house’ or ‘home’ in Japanese. This can also work as a plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “watashi no ie” to say where the listener goes or comes.
This is a typical usage of “youkoso”. Like this example, it often works together with the case particle, “ni”, to say “welcome to” in Japanese. This usage is worth knowing, I think.
Example #2: another usage of “youkoso”
kyou wa kyoto e youkoso – 今日は京都へようこそ (きょうはきょうとへようこそ)
Welcome to Kyoto today.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works as a topic marker after “kyou” to put a focus on it.
- kyoto – 京都 (きょうと) : a noun meaning ‘Kyoto’ in Japanese.
- e – へ : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “kyoto” to say where the listener goes or comes.
This is another typical usage of “youkoso”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “e”, which has a very similar role of “ni” used in the last example. “Ni” is much more common than “e”. When we want to use “youkoso” with a noun referring to a place, however, we can use either one of them before the Japanese welcome phrase.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “youkoso” and its literal interpretation based on its components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- youkoso – ようこそ : an adverb, but often used as just a phrase to welcome guests politely in Japanese. Actually, this is often translated into English as “welcome”. This phrase is literally the emphasized expression of “yoi” which means ‘well’ in Japanese. In a way, saying “welcome” in Japanese can be considered as telling guests, say, “you well walked all the way to here”.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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