Translation guide
The feeling of missing home, family, or familiar surroundings. In Japanese, this is most commonly expressed with the noun ホームシック or the phrase ホームシックにかかる, but there are also native expressions like 郷愁 and 望郷 that carry different nuances.
Expressing the common feeling of missing home, often used in everyday conversation.
Expressing that you miss particular aspects of home, like food, family, or places.
ホームシック is the everyday, casual term. 郷愁 is more nostalgic and literary, often associated with a bittersweet longing. 望郷 is formal and poetic, rarely used in conversation.
I cried because I was homesick.
The most common and direct loanword for 'homesickness'. Used as a noun.
He's feeling down because of homesickness.
A common phrase meaning 'to become homesick' or 'to suffer from homesickness'.
I got homesick soon after starting my study abroad.
A more literary or nostalgic term for homesickness, often implying a longing for one's hometown or the past.
This song fills me with nostalgia for home.
A formal, somewhat poetic term for longing for one's hometown, often used in literature or songs.
I am seized with a longing for home.
I miss my family.
I miss Japanese food.
Used when something brings back fond memories, often of home or the past. It's more about nostalgia than active missing.
I miss the scenery of my hometown (it brings back memories).
A scenery that evokes nostalgia for home.
恋しい is for actively missing someone or something you want to be with again. 懐かしい is for fond memories triggered by something. Saying 家族が懐かしい sounds odd because it implies your family is just a memory, not people you currently miss.