ようこそ

ようこそ

Japanese

Japanese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Etymology

/joku koso/ → /jou koso/ → /joːkoso/. From the adverb 良く (yoku, “well”) and the emphatic particle こそ (koso). The medial -k- drops out and the resulting -ou- elide into a long vowel (ウ音便 (u-obin, “u-euphony”)).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) よ​ーこそ [yóꜜòkòsò] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
• IPA^(key): [jo̞ːko̞so̞]

Adverb

ようこそ • (yōkoso) 

1. welcome (greeting given upon someone's arrival)

   日(に)本(ほん)へようこそ！

   Nihon e yōkoso!

   Welcome to Japan!

   地(ち)球(きゅう)へようこそ！

   Chikyū e yōkoso!

   Welcome to Earth!

   私(わたし)たちの家(うち)へようこそ。

   Watashitachi no uchi e yōkoso.

   Welcome to our home.

   • 2001 August 27, Amano, Kozue, “Navigation(ナビゲーション)01(れいいち)　水(みず)の惑(わく)星(せい) [Navigation 01: The Water Planet]”, in AQUA(アクア) [AQUA], volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Enix, →ISBN, page 10:

     水(みず)の惑(わく)星(せい)「ＡＱＵＡ(アクア)」へようこそ

     Mizu no Wakusei “Akua” e yōkoso

     Welcome to “AQUA”, the Water Planet

Usage notes

Usually follows へ (he, locative particle of a direction to an area, to), similar to "welcome to (an area)", or on its own.

References

1. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN