帰宅する
kitaku suru
To come home in Japanese is 帰宅する (kitaku suru).
The phrase means to return to the place where one lives.
Which one should you use?
While 帰宅する is used for reporting or in news contexts, the verb 帰る is the most common way to express the idea of going or returning home in daily conversation. For a direct request or an informal way to say "come home", use 帰ってきて.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
帰宅する is a formal way to describe returning home, often used in reports. For daily conversation, 帰る is the standard/informal choice. 帰ってきて is an informal way to say "come home".
How does it change in a sentence?
The past tense of 帰宅する is 帰宅した.
How do you pronounce it?
kitaku suru
When do people say it?
When arriving home, Japanese speakers typically do not say "I came home". Instead, they use the greeting ただいま to announce their arrival. The standard response to this is おかえり or the more polite おかえりなさい.
Did you know?
- In Japanese workplaces, employees may use the formal 帰宅します (kitaku shimasu) to signal they are leaving for the day, even if they are not physically arriving home yet.
- The phrase ただいま (tadaima) used when arriving home is a shortened version of a longer sentence meaning 'I have just now returned'.
- The greeting おかえり (okaeri) literally means 'welcome back', but it is specifically reserved for the place the person calls home or a place where they belong.
Examples in context
- 兄ちゃん、帰ってきてBrother, come home.
- 友達、帰ってきてFriend, come home.
- 今日は22時に帰宅する予定です。Kyou wa nijuuniji ni kitaku suru yotei desu.I plan to come home at 10 PM today.
- 仕事が終わったら、すぐに帰宅する。Shigoto ga owattara, sugu ni kitaku suru.I will come home immediately after work finishes.
- 彼は毎日、19時に帰宅する。Kare wa mainichi, juukyuuji ni kitaku suru.He comes home at 7 PM every day.
Example conversation
Ren calls Misaki to tell her he is leaving the office.
- 蓮 Ren今から帰宅するよ。ima kara kitaku suru yo.I'm coming home now.
- 美咲 Misakiわかった。気をつけてね。wakatta. ki o tsukete ne.Got it. Be careful.
- 蓮 Ren夕飯はもうできてる？yūhan wa mō dekiteru?Is dinner ready already?
- 美咲 Misakiうん、もうできてるよ。un, mō dekiteru yo.Yes, it's already ready.
