On the 2020/8/2 (Sun) broadcast of the TOKYO FM radio program “Sugisaki Hana’s Flower TOKYO” (every Sunday from 8:00 to 8:30).
Sugisaki Hana answered questions about “greetings” from high school listeners.
Sugisaki Hana: 18 years old, Chiba Prefecture, radio name “Ribamo”.
Listener email: Good morning, Ohana.
Sugisaki Hana: Good morning.
Listener email: I would like to ask Ohana about a long-standing mystery.
What do you say when your neighbors say “Welcome home” to you?
I’m a boy, so I can’t just say “I’m home,” but it’s also weird to say “I’m home,” so I always say “Thank you, hello” and bow.
I wish there was a polite way to say “I’m home,” but how should I say it?
Please tell me if there’s a way to say it back.
Sugisaki Hana: Hmm. I say “I’m home”… (laughs).
Yeah. But it’s pretty rare for neighbors to say “welcome home”. You wrote “it’s a long-standing mystery” about it. I guess it means we’ve been neighbors for a long time now, right?
So when they say “welcome home” you say “thank you, hello”, right?
That’s pretty funny (laughs).
I see, “I’m home” is weird… Hmm.
The riding club I used to take lessons at is a place that really values etiquette. When you go from the “clubhouse”, where you get changed and get ready, to the “riding arena” where you ride, there is a staff member at the reception desk, and when you go to the riding arena, you say “I’m going” to that person, and when you come back, you say “I’m home” or “I’m back”.
So maybe the polite form of “I’m home” is something like “I’m home”?
…But it’s pretty weird to say “I’m home” when a neighbor says “Welcome home” (lol).
Wouldn’t it be fine to just say “I’m home”?
Or, if it’s a long-time neighbor, then if I said “Welcome home” to someone younger than me and they said “I’m home,” I’d think “Ah, that’s cute, I’ll be happy.”…
It might be good to just say “I’m home” in a slightly spoiled way (lol). Yes.
Thank you for your message, “Ribamo”.