Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| ようこそ | yōkoso | [jo̞ːko̞so̞] (narrow) |
| いらっしゃいませ | irasshaimase | [iɾa̠ɕːa̠ima̠se̞] (narrow) |
| いらっしゃい | irasshai | [iɾa̠ɕːa̠i] (narrow) |
The term ようこそ is a common and widely used greeting given upon someone's arrival. While it functions as a greeting, you may also encounter the related forms 歓迎, which is the noun for the act of welcoming and 歓迎する, which is the verb meaning to affirm or greet the arrival of someone.
Which one should you use?
ようこそ is used for a general welcome to a place or person, often used in formal or semi-formal settings like an airport or a website. In contrast, 歓迎 is a noun or a verb used to describe the concept of 'welcoming' or 'reception' (e.g., a welcome party).
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
いらっしゃいませ is a polite, formal way of saying welcome used in service-oriented contexts like restaurants or stores. いらっしゃい is an informal version used when welcoming someone to a home or casual gathering, typically used by a host or shopkeeper to someone they are familiar with or in a very relaxed setting.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
おいでください translates to please come and is used to politely invite someone to enter or join.
How do you pronounce it?
yōkoso
Did you know?
- The formal greeting いらっしゃいませ is actually an imperative command. It uses a polite form of a verb to command a customer to 'please come in' or 'please be present'.
- While いらっしゃいませ is used by staff, customers in Japan generally do not reply to it with words. A small nod or a polite smile is the standard social response.
- The word ようこそ contains the adverb 良く, which means 'well'. Historically, the phrase literally translates to 'You have come well'.
Examples in context
- いらっしゃい。Welcome.This example shows the use of the informal form いらっしゃい.Tatoeba #416304 by bunbuku, translation #138919 by CM
- 日本へようこそ。Welcome to Japan.This example demonstrates how to use ようこそ to welcome someone to a specific place.Tatoeba #122387 by small_snow, translation #281616 by CN
- 地獄へようこそ。Welcome to hell!This example shows the use of ようこそ in a more dramatic or dark context.Tatoeba #1723894 by tommy_san, translation #435946 by Clavain
- 32 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Kenta greets Misaki at the airport after her long flight.
- 健太 Kenta美咲、やっと来たね。ようこそ！Misaki, yatto kita ne. Youkoso!Misaki, you finally arrived. Welcome!
- 美咲 Misakiありがとう、健太。やっと着いたよ。Arigatou, Kenta. Yatto tsuita yo.Thank you, Kenta. I've finally arrived.
- 健太 Kenta日本へようこそ。会いたかったよ。Nihon e youkoso. Aitakatta yo.Welcome to Japan. I wanted to see you.
- 美咲 Misaki私も。すごく楽しみだよ。Watashi mo. Sugoku tanoshimi da yo.Me too. I'm really looking forward to it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “welcome” translations and entries ようこそ, いらっしゃいませ, いらっしゃい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries いらっしゃい, いらっしゃいませ, ようこそ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
