お帰りなさい（おかえりなさい、okaerinasai）
- welcome home

お帰りなさい means "Welcome home" or "Welcome back." It is a polite and friendly greeting used to welcome someone who has returned to a place, typically a home or office. It conveys a sense of warmth, care, and familiarity. This greeting acknowledges the person's return and signifies a welcoming atmosphere. It implies that the person has been missed or that their return is appreciated. The feeling of the greeting is very important for Japanese people.

⚫︎お母さんが仕事から帰ってきました。お帰りなさい。 Translation: Mom came home from work. Welcome home. ⚫︎旅行から帰ってきた友達にお帰りなさい！ Translation: Welcome back to my friend who came back from the trip!

⚫︎ You use お帰りなさい when someone returns to a place, most commonly home, but it can also be used in an office or a shop. ⚫︎ It is typically used by someone who is already present at the location when the other person returns. ⚫︎ This phrase is usually used by adults, but it can be used by children as well. ⚫︎ You can use it regardless of your relationship with the person, as it's a polite and standard greeting. ⚫︎ You can respond with ただいま, which means "I'm home."

⚫︎ お帰りなさい is most commonly written in hiragana as おかえりなさい. ⚫︎ The kanji form is お帰りなさい, though it's less common. ⚫︎ The polite form ございます might sometimes be added in certain situations. ⚫︎ The casual form is おかえり. ⚫︎ The word is usually written in hiragana because it's a greeting and for ease of reading.

⚫︎ おかえり (casual version) ⚫︎ ようこそ (welcome, but used in a broader context)

⚫︎ 行ってきます (I'm leaving) ⚫︎ 行ってらっしゃい (Have a good day / See you later - used when someone is leaving)

家に帰ってきたお兄さんにお帰りなさい！ ・Translation: Welcome home to my older brother! ・Explanation: This sentence shows the greeting used to welcome a family member who has returned home.

会社から帰ってきた同僚にお帰りなさい。 ・Translation: Welcome back to my colleague from the company. ・Explanation: This example demonstrates using お帰りなさい in a work environment.

⚫︎ The word comes from the verb 帰る (kaeru), which means "to return" or "to go back." ⚫︎ The addition of the polite prefix お and the polite verb conjugation ～なさい creates the polite greeting. ⚫︎ The literal meaning is something like "Please return."