willkommen zu Hause
The German phrase for welcome home is willkommen zu Hause.
Depending on the context, you might also use Schön, dass du wieder zu Hause bist to say 'It's nice that you're back home' or Willkommen in den eigenen vier Wänden to say 'Welcome to your own four walls'.
Meaning: welcome home (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of willkommen (welcome) and zu Hause (at home).
Which one should you use?
You can use Willkommen daheim for an informal setting. If you want to say 'Welcome to your home' specifically, use Willkommen in Ihrem Zuhause.
How does it change in a sentence?
When used as a greeting, willkommen often functions as a standalone exclamation or an adjective and does not require a verb such as 'to be'.
Did you know?
- The German willkommen is a cognate with Romance language greetings like the Spanish bienvenido and French bienvenu, which were likely modeled after the Germanic structure.
- While willkommen is used as a greeting, it is fundamentally an adjective. In full sentences, it behaves differently than the English verb 'to welcome'.
Examples in context
- Willkommen zu Hause, Tom!Welcome home, Tom.This example shows how to use willkommen zu Hause when addressing a specific person.Tatoeba #8646249 by Pfirsichbaeumchen, translation #6825888 by CK
- Willkommen zu Hause.Welcome home.This example shows the use of willkommen zu Hause as a simple greeting.Tatoeba #357792 by MUIRIEL, translation #64693 by Scott
- Willkommen zu Hause, meine Liebe!Welcome home, my dear!
Example conversation
Felix greets Sarah when she arrives from a long trip.
- FelixSchön, dass du da bist. Willkommen zu Hause!It is good that you are here. Welcome home!
- SarahDanke, Felix. Ich bin so froh, endlich wieder da zu sein.Thank you, Felix. I am so happy to finally be back.
- FelixDu siehst sehr müde aus.You look very tired.
- SarahJa, die Reise war sehr lang.Yes, the journey was very long.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome home” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries willkommen, zu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
