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.
Use this pattern to say you miss something or someone. 恋しい is an adjective meaning 'dear, longed for'.
家族が恋しい。
I miss my family.
日本の食べ物が恋しい。
I miss Japanese food.
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.
ホームシックで泣いてしまった。
I cried because I was homesick.
郷愁を誘う風景。
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.
The most common and direct loanword for 'homesickness'. Used as a noun.
彼はホームシックで元気がない。
He's feeling down because of homesickness.
A common phrase meaning 'to become homesick' or 'to suffer from homesickness'.
留学してすぐにホームシックにかかった。
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.
この歌を聞くと郷愁にかられる。
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.
望郷の念にかられる。
I am seized with a longing for home.
Used when something brings back fond memories, often of home or the past. It's more about nostalgia than active missing.
故郷の景色が懐かしい。
I miss the scenery of my hometown (it brings back memories).