JLPT N5Set phrase ・ AdverbUpdated 2026-09-25

ただいま tadaima meaning

Q: What does ただいま (tadaima) mean?

I'm home — and, separately, just now or at present. The second is the original: 只今 is 只 merely plus 今 now. The greeting is the clipped remains of ただいま帰りました, I have just this moment returned.

ただいま (tadaima) means “I’m home” when someone returns, and “right now” in other contexts. A person coming home may say ただいま, answered by おかえり or おかえりなさい. On a notice or announcement, ただいま can instead mean “currently” or “just now.”

also written ただ今 / 只今 / ただいま帰りました

I'm home · just now · at present

Sentences

6 sentences, word by word

ただいま · from the door

plain

！

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ただいま

ただいま［4］

I'm home

set phrase · clipped from ただいま帰りました, 'I have just returned'

ただいまN5the clipped greeting

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I'm home!

ただいま帰りました · the full form

polite past

。。

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ただいま

ただいま［4］

just this moment

adverb · the original sense, and here it still is one

ただいまN5full: ただいま帰りました

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帰りました

かえりました

have returned — polite

polite past of 帰る · going back where you belong

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遅く

おそく

late

adverbial form of 遅い · く before なる

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なって

having become

て-form of なる · joins to the apology that follows

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ごめん

sorry

set phrase · casual; ごめんなさい is the fuller form

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I'm back — sorry I'm late.

ただいま戻りました · back at the office

polite past

。

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ただいま

ただいま［4］

just this moment

adverb · the office version keeps the full sentence

ただいまN5office: ただいま戻りました

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戻りました

もどりました

have come back — polite

polite past of 戻る · returning somewhere you will leave again

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I'm back from the client's.

ただいま＋〜中 · the shop sign

polite

。

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ただいま

ただいま［4］

currently; at present

adverb · the sense that has nothing to do with coming home

ただいまN5adverb: currently

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準備

じゅんび［1］

preparation

noun · 準備中 is the standard sign for not open yet

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中

ちゅう［1］

in the middle of

suffix · 〜中 makes an ongoing state from a noun

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です

is — polite

copula · signs keep です even with nobody to be polite to

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We're getting ready — back shortly.

ただいま · the announcement register

polite past

。

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電車

でんしゃ［0,1］

train

noun · 電 electric ＋車 vehicle

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が

marks the subject

particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object

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ただいま

ただいま［4］

just this moment

adverb · the formal announcement sense, very common on platforms

ただいまN5announcements use the adverb

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到着

とうちゃく［0］

arrival

noun · with します it becomes the verb to arrive

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しました

did — polite past

polite past of する · turns the noun into a completed action

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The train has just arrived.

ただいま and おかえり · the pair

plain

。！

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ただいま

ただいま［4］

I'm home

set phrase · the first half of a two-part exchange

ただいまN5half of a pair

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おかえり

おかえり［0］

welcome back

set phrase · the answer, from お帰りなさい

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— I'm home. — Welcome back!

Forms

What forms does ただいま take?

ただいま

The everyday greeting, called from the door. Casual, and used at home regardless of who is in — including to an empty flat.

ただいま＋帰りました

The full polite form. Where the clipped greeting came from, and still what you say arriving anywhere formal.

ただいま＋戻りました

Back at the office after being out. 戻る for a place you will leave again, 帰る for home.

ただいま＋Noun ＋中

The adverb, alive and well: ただいま準備中, ただいま営業中, ただいま満席です. Formal register, and extremely common on signage and announcements.

Meaning

Two words, or one?

One word. 只今 — 只 merely, 今 now — means this very moment, and it is still a live adverb in formal Japanese. Announcements use it constantly: ただいま到着しました, we have just arrived. The greeting is the same adverb with the verb dropped off the end.

The full sentence is ただいま帰りました. Japanese clips set phrases hard — おはようございます from お早くございます, すみません from 済みません — and what is left is usually the front. Here that leaves an adverb standing alone as a greeting.

Home and office split on the verb. 帰る is returning to where you belong; 戻る is coming back to somewhere you will leave again. So it is ただいま帰りました at the front door and ただいま戻りました walking back into the office.

It expects an answer. The pair with おかえり is close to automatic — one half calls, the other returns it. People still say ただいま to an empty flat, which tells you the phrase is as much a marker of arriving as it is a message to anyone.

Inside the word

只今 — merely now

只 — ただ · merely, only

The same ただ as in ただの人 an ordinary person, and as in the ただ that means free of charge. Here it narrows 今 to a point: not now in general, but only this instant.

How a greeting loses its sentence

Japanese wears set phrases down from the back. ただいま帰りました keeps its adverb and drops its verb; おはようございます is what is left of お早くございます. The survivor is the front of the phrase, which is why so many Japanese greetings are grammatically odd fragments.

ただいま — accent ［4］ as the greeting

The accent table lists 只今 with different values for its noun and interjection uses — ［2］ as a noun, ［4］ or ［0］ as the interjection. The greeting takes the interjection reading, with the drop landing late; the adverb on a train announcement is flatter and quicker.

Watch out

Where ただいま goes wrong

Reading ただいま準備中 as a greeting

It says currently preparing — the shop is not open yet. The adverb sense is everywhere on signage and in announcements (ただいま営業中, ただいま満席です) and has nothing to do with anyone arriving home.

Saying ただいま when you arrive somewhere new

It means you have returned. Arriving at a friend's house for the first time, the phrase is お邪魔します — literally I am about to get in your way. ただいま would claim you live there.

Using 帰りました at the office

帰る is going home, so ただいま帰りました walking back into work suggests the office is where you live. Coming back from an errand it is ただいま戻りました.

Also asked

Questions people ask about ただいま

What does ただいま (tadaima) mean?

I'm home — and, separately, just now or at present. The second is the original: 只今 is 只 merely plus 今 now. The greeting is the clipped remains of ただいま帰りました, I have just this moment returned.

Why does ただいま appear on shop signs?

Because that is the adverb doing its ordinary job. ただいま準備中 means currently getting ready, ただいま営業中 means open right now. Same word, no greeting involved — it is simply a formal way to say at present.

What do you say back to ただいま?

おかえり, or the fuller おかえりなさい. The two halves are close to automatic in a household, and leaving one hanging is noticeable in the way an unanswered greeting is.

Do people say ただいま when nobody is home?

Often, yes. It marks the act of arriving as much as it addresses anyone, which is why it survives in an empty flat. That said, there is no obligation, and plenty of people simply come in.

What is the difference between 帰る and 戻る here?

帰る is returning to where you belong — home, your home town, your country. 戻る is coming back somewhere you will leave again. So the front door takes ただいま帰りました and the office takes ただいま戻りました.

How is ただいま written?

Usually kana as a greeting. The kanji 只今 and the mixed ただ今 both appear, and you will see them mostly in the adverbial sense — on signs, in announcements and in formal writing.

References