Dictionary / Japanese / I'm home
How to Say "I'm home" in Japanese
ただいま
tadaima
Literally: Just now
ただ
just
いま
now
Polite or casual
Politeただいま戻りました (tadaima modorimashita)
Casualただいま
ただいま is fine with anyone at home, and it is neither rude nor stiff. It is short for a longer phrase, "I have just now come back". At work, when you return to the office, ただいま戻りました is the polite version. At home, the answer is おかえりなさい (okaerinasai), or おかえり (okaeri) in the family. At work, people often answer お疲れさまです (otsukaresama desu).
Correct
ただいま
What people say wrong
家にいます
I am at home. It says where you are, for example on the phone. It is not a greeting.
The mistake to avoid. Learners often build the English sentence word by word and say 家にいます (ie ni imasu). That only states your location. Walking through the door, Japanese uses the set phrase ただいま. It is said by the person arriving. The people already inside answer おかえり, so try not to swap the two.
In context
ただいま。今日は疲れた。
Tadaima. Kyō wa tsukareta.
I'm home. What a tiring day. (casual)
部長、ただいま戻りました。
Buchō, tadaima modorimashita.
I'm back. (to a manager, returning to the office)
「ただいま」と言うと、母が「おかえり」と言いました。
"Tadaima" to iu to, haha ga "okaeri" to iimashita.
When I said I'm home, my mother said welcome back.