Almost every day, when one of us leaves the house, we have a small exchange: the person leaving says ittekimasu, and the person staying behind answers with itterasshai. When I leave, my husband answers me. When he leaves, I answer him.
It’s such a small exchange that I barely notice I’m doing it. But if you’ve ever spent time in Japan, or watched a Japanese drama, you’ve probably heard this pair of words and wondered what they actually mean — and why people say them so consistently.
The short answer to what ittekimasu means is something close to “I’ll go and come back.” But like a lot of everyday Japanese phrases, it doesn’t translate into English in one clean sentence. It’s less a fixed phrase and more a small, quiet exchange between the person leaving and the person staying behind.
What Do “Ittekimasu” and “Itterasshai” Mean?
Ittekimasu (行ってきます) is what the person leaving the house says. It’s used when heading to work or school, but also for something as ordinary as a quick trip to the store.
Itterasshai (行ってらっしゃい) is the reply from whoever is staying home. It sends the other person off with a sense of “go on, take care.”
Written in kanji, ittekimasu is 行ってきます and itterasshai is 行ってらっしゃい. Both come from the verb iku (行く), “to go” — ittekimasu adds kuru (来る), “to come,” expressing the idea of going somewhere and then returning, while itterasshai adds irasshai, an honorific form used to see someone off.
It isn’t a goodbye in the way English speakers might use “goodbye” — a word that can mark a longer or more final kind of parting. It’s closer to acknowledging that you’re stepping out, with the understanding that you’ll be back.
As for what itterasshai means, it sits somewhere between “take care” and “see you later,” though neither English phrase quite covers it. In my experience, the closest way to describe it is: someone is being sent off, and someone is quietly hoping they’ll come back safely.
This basic meaning and usage of ittekimasu and itterasshai is also explained by Coto Japanese Academy.
| Phrase | Kanji | Said By | Closest Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ittekimasu | 行ってきます | The person leaving | “I’ll go and come back” |
| Itterasshai | 行ってらっしゃい | The person staying | “Please go and come back safely” |
“Ittekimasu” Is a Small Greeting Before Leaving
I don’t think of ittekimasu as an announcement — like I’m formally reporting that I’m heading out. It feels more like a quick, natural check-in with whoever is home before I step outside.
Here’s the thing, though: I don’t say it to an empty house. When I’m home alone and about to leave, I don’t say ittekimasu to myself at the door. It only comes out when there’s someone there to hear it — usually my husband.
When he’s home and I’m leaving, I’ll say ittekimasu almost without thinking. He answers with itterasshai, and that’s it. The whole exchange takes a few seconds. We’re not discussing where I’m going or when I’ll be back — that conversation, if it happens, usually happened earlier. This is just a small verbal handoff before the door closes.
It’s a tiny habit, repeated constantly, in something like the same rhythm as saying itadakimasu before a meal — another everyday Japanese phrase I’ve written about that carries more feeling than its short length suggests.
Why “Ittekimasu” Feels Like “I’ll Come Back”
Most of the time, I say ittekimasu on autopilot. I’m not standing at the door thinking deeply about coming home safely — I’m usually just grabbing my bag and rushing out.
Even so, I personally feel that the phrase carries a kind of built-in promise: I’m leaving for now, but I’m coming back. It’s temporary, not final.
And I feel something similar in itterasshai when I say it to my husband — a quiet “be careful out there, and come home safe” tucked into a short, ordinary word.
I want to be careful here, because I can’t speak for every household in Japan. Not everyone attaches the same weight to these words, and for many people, it really is just routine — said quickly, without much thought behind it in the moment. But for me, underneath the automatic habit, there’s still that small hope for the other person’s safe return.
A Greeting I Heard From My Parents as a Child
When I was growing up, my parents said itterasshai to me every single time I left the house — heading to school in the morning, or just going out to play.
Even on days when we’d been arguing, even when the mood at home was tense, they still said it. “Itterasshai,” every time, without fail.
As a kid, I didn’t think there was anything special about this. It was simply how leaving the house worked in my family: I’d say ittekimasu, and my parents would answer itterasshai. That was the pattern, and I never questioned it.
Looking back now as an adult, I see it a little differently. Even during the awkward, tense moments, they still sent me off with that word. I sometimes wonder if there was an unspoken “We’re upset right now, but be careful, and come home safe” folded into it. I can’t say for certain what they were feeling — this is just how I’ve come to interpret it, looking back with adult eyes.
How I Use “Ittekimasu” and “Itterasshai” Today
These days, it goes both ways: whoever is leaving says ittekimasu, and the other one answers with itterasshai.
Neither of us thinks it through each time. It’s automatic, the way a lot of everyday phrases become automatic once you’ve used them for years.
But when I do stop and pay attention to it, I notice ittekimasu still carries that sense of “I’m going, and I’ll be back” for me. And when I say itterasshai, there’s a small “take care, and get home safe” behind it, even if I don’t consciously form the thought.
Thinking about the itterasshai my parents used to say to me, and the one I now say myself, I’ve realized this pair of words has quietly followed me from childhood into my own home. It’s not something I set out to keep — it just stayed.
What Does “Ittekimasu” Mean in English?
There isn’t one clean English translation, because English doesn’t really have an equivalent pair of exit-and-response phrases. Depending on context, ittekimasu gets rendered as “I’m leaving,” “I’m heading out,” or, more literally, “I’ll go and come back.”
“I’m heading out” is probably the closest match in everyday tone — it’s casual, and it’s what you’d actually say to someone in the house before leaving. “I’ll go and come back” is more literal and useful if you want to understand the grammar, but it’s not something people say out loud in English on their way out the door. None of these is wrong; they just capture a different part of what the Japanese phrase is doing at once.
How Do You Pronounce “Ittekimasu”?
Ittekimasu breaks into five syllables: it-te-ki-ma-su. The small tsu (っ) creates a brief pause before the “te” sound. For English speakers, a rough approximation is “eet-teh-kee-mah-su” — that’s only a rough guide, not exact phonetics. Japanese has a more even rhythm than English, so it helps to avoid putting strong stress on any one syllable.
Itterasshai follows a similar pattern at the start (it-te-ra-shai), with that same fairly even rhythm rather than a hard stress on one syllable.
What These Everyday Words Say About Life in Japan
From the outside, ittekimasu and itterasshai might look like a distinctly Japanese custom — maybe even a little formal or ceremonial. But for many people in Japan, they’re not treated as anything special. They’re just part of how a day starts.
When people picture Japanese culture, things like tea ceremonies, kimono, shrines, or bowing tend to come to mind first. But I think everyday life in Japan often shows up in much smaller moments than that — like a two-word exchange at the front door.
I still say ittekimasu mostly without thinking about it. But underneath the habit, there’s a feeling of “I’m going, and I’ll be back,” and when I hear itterasshai in return, there’s a sense of being sent off with a little bit of care attached.
That’s what these words mean to me: not a formal ritual, but a small, repeated moment where two people quietly wish each other well before one of them walks out the door — not so different from tadaima, the word said when someone comes back through that same door.
Japanese everyday greetings like ittekimasu and itterasshai are interesting precisely because they are so ordinary. They aren’t necessarily something people stop and analyze every day. Like itadakimasu, they can become part of the rhythm of daily life. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan also describes itadakimasu as part of the everyday teaching of food manners and food education.
FAQ
What does ittekimasu mean?
Ittekimasu (行ってきます) is what a person says when leaving home, or any place they’re expected to come back to. It roughly means “I’m heading out, and I’ll be back.”
What does itterasshai mean?
Itterasshai (行ってらっしゃい) is the reply, usually said by whoever is staying behind. It means something close to “please go, and please come back safely.”
What does ittekimasu mean in English?
There’s no single perfect translation. Depending on context, it’s rendered as “I’m leaving,” “I’m heading out,” or, more literally, “I’ll go and come back.”
How do you pronounce ittekimasu?
It breaks into five syllables — it-te-ki-ma-su — roughly “eet-teh-kee-mah-su” as a rough approximation, with a fairly even rhythm rather than English-style stress on one syllable.
What is the kanji for ittekimasu?
The kanji is 行ってきます, from 行く (iku, “to go”) and 来る (kuru, “to come”). Itterasshai is written 行ってらっしゃい.
When do Japanese people say ittekimasu?
Most commonly when leaving home, but it’s also used in workplaces and other settings when someone steps out and is expected to come back.
Do Japanese people always say ittekimasu when leaving?
Not always — it depends on the person, the household, and whether anyone’s there to hear it. In my own case, I only say it when someone else is home; if the house is empty, I just leave without saying anything.