A common reason people want to know how to write ‘Welcome’ in Japanese is so they can welcome people to their blog, website or even on MySpace.

So how DO you write welcome in Japanese?

Depending on the situation,

• The most common and general way to greet others:

Romaji. Youkoso (pronounce “ou” as a long “ohhh”)
Hiragana. ようこそ

• To receive a delegation or group of important people, the most formal way of saying welcome:

Romanji. Kangei (pronounce “ei” as a long “ayyy”)
Kanji. 歓迎
Hiragana. かんげい

• To welcome customers stepping into a shop or into your house informally :

Romaji. Irasshai
Hiragana. いらっしゃい

• To welcome customers stepping into a shop or into your house formally :

Romaji. Irasshaimase
Hiragana. いらっしゃいませ

• “Welcome home”:

Romaji. Okaeri
Hiragana. おかえり

• “You’re welcome”, as a response to someone thanking you:

Romaji. Dou itashimashite
Kanji. お願いします
Hiragana. どういたしまして

• To invite someone to eat or to enter a room or to take a seat:

Romaji. Douzo (pronounce “ou” as a long “ohhh”)
Hiragana. どうぞ

[Note: If you don’t see the word you want in any form, it’s because
1. There is no representing character for this word in Kanji.
2. This phrase is not written in Katakana because it’s not a foreign-word/ non-native-word/ borrowed-word.]

If you’re interested, here’s a video of the Twitter team saying ‘Welcome’ or “Youkoso”, as part of their launch of Japanese Twitter (twitter.jp). youtube.com/watch?v=MUIvNkwjk5A

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