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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner

How do you say "welcome back" in Japanese?

お帰りなさい

o kaeri nasai

Phrase Kanji

In Japanese, "welcome back" is お帰りなさい (o kaeri nasai).

Listen to the pronunciation:

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Pronunciation

Say oh-kah-eh-ree nah-sai, kaeri means return, with a clear, warm stress on the middle syllable.

Writing and usage

お帰りなさい is written using kanji. It's a phrase, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

welcome back

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How to remember お帰りなさい

Okaerinasai sounds like 'oh, carry, knee, sigh', picture carrying your tired knees home and sighing with relief at the warm welcome back.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about お帰りなさい

How do you pronounce お帰りなさい?

Say oh-kah-eh-ree nah-sai, kaeri means return, with a clear, warm stress on the middle syllable.

Is お帰りなさい formal or casual?

お帰りなさい is a common everyday expression. Context and tone of voice matter more than the words themselves for how formal it sounds.

How is お帰りなさい written in Japanese?

お帰りなさい is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as o kaeri nasai.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Welcome back" in other languages

Curated by Jack Ratcliffe

This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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