Itterasshai Meaning: The Japanese Reply to Ittekimasu

行ってらっしゃい — itterasshai is said to someone who is leaving and expected to return. Depending on the scene, natural English translations include “see you later,” “take care,” and “have a good day.”

The person leaving says 行ってきます — ittekimasu. The person staying behind replies itterasshai.

Together, the pair carries a shared expectation: one person goes out and comes back; the other sends them off.

The short answer

• The person leaving says ittekimasu.
• The person remaining says itterasshai.
• The exchange is common at home and can also occur in workplaces or other shared bases when someone leaves temporarily.

What ittekimasu says

The phrase combines 行く — iku (“go”) with 来る — kuru (“come”):

行ってきます。 Ittekimasu.

A useful mental translation is “I’ll go and come back.” It does not specify when the speaker will return, and it is not a promise that nothing can change. It frames the departure as temporary.

Casual forms include 行ってくる — itte kuru and shortened speech such as 行ってきまーす. The social action remains the same.

What itterasshai says

Itterasshai responds to the person leaving. It combines “go” with an honorific form related to coming/being. Natural English varies:

• “See you later.”
• “Have a good day.”
• “Take care.”
• “Off you go.”

The phrase is not simply “goodbye.” It belongs to a departure expected to end in return.

Where the pair is used

At home, family members or housemates may use it for work, school, shopping, or a short errand.

At work, someone leaving the office temporarily might say ittekimasu, and colleagues may answer itterasshai. When leaving for the day rather than returning, workplace expressions such as otsukaresama desu or osaki ni shitsurei shimasu are more relevant.

Hotels, classrooms, and shared facilities can produce similar exchanges when they function as a temporary base. The relationship matters more than the building type.

Do visitors need to use it?

If you are staying with a Japanese-speaking household and everyone uses the pair, joining naturally can be warm and appropriate. You do not need to announce ittekimasu every time you cross a doorway in public.

The phrase assumes people who remain and an expected return. Leaving a shop, museum, or stranger’s home after a completed visit calls for ordinary thanks or farewell language instead.

A practical rule

Say ittekimasu when leaving a shared base with the expectation of returning. Answer itterasshai when sending that person off. Translate for the scene rather than forcing the literal “go and come.”

The matching return-home exchange is tadaima and okaeri.

Source note

The household and temporary-departure use follows the Japan Foundation’s Irodori: Japanese for Life in Japan materials, which teach routine greetings through everyday situations. The translations here are functional choices, not claims of one fixed English equivalent.