How to Say ‘Welcome’ in Japanese
いらっしゃい
irasshai
[ee-rahs-shy]
💬 Usage Tip: [いらっしゃい] is the base welcome call from the honorific verb [いらっしゃる]. On its own, it sounds like the first half of a shop greeting.
🇯🇵 In Japan: In customer service, staff usually continue this with [ませ] to make the full polite greeting heard in stores, hotels, and travel counters across Japan.
Phrase Breakdown
いらっしゃい
irasshai
[ee-rahs-shy]
welcome
A polite expression used to welcome a customer when they arrive at a shop, hotel, or travel counter.
店に入ったお客様に「いらっしゃい」と言いました。
I said, "Welcome," to the customer who entered the shop.
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