To let someone know you miss them in Japanese, you’ll choose between aitai, samishii, and koishii depending on who you’re talking to and the circumstances. These three words are not a direct translation for “I miss you” in Japanese, so you’ll need a bit of context to understand which is the correct choice for your intended meaning.
Learn how to talk about missing someone, being lonely without them, and yearning for both people and objects or places, communicating the appropriate intensity for every situation.
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How do you say ‘I miss you’ in Japanese?
Although Japanese has a variety of ways to say “I miss you,” none of them use a literal English translation of the verb “to miss.” Instead, you can use a few Japanese verbs and adjectives that express a feeling of longing to tell someone you miss them.
Aitai (I want to see you)
The most common way to say you miss someone is to say aitai (会いたい), which literally means “I want to see/meet you.” You can say this casually by simply saying aitai, or you can add desu to be a little more polite (such as to someone you’re not as close with).
- Aitai yo.（会いたいよ。）= I miss you. (casual)
- Aitai desu yo.（会いたいですよ。）= I miss you. (polite)
How do you respond if someone says it to you? You’ll need to use the Japanese particle mo (も) after “I” to express that you also miss them (assuming you do). It also helps to include one of the words for “you” in Japanese (like kimi) to be clear about who you miss.
- Watashi mo kimi ni aitai yo.（私も君に会いたいよ。）= I miss you, too.
Samishii (I’m lonely)
The word for “lonely” in Japanese can also be used to say “I miss you,” or more literally “I’m lonely without you.” When used to say “I miss you,” the Japanese word for “lonely” is samishii (淋しい).
In other situations (such as describing someone as “a lonely person”), you can use the more common pronunciation of sabishii (寂しい). Both words can be spelled with the same kanji (and their Japanese pronunciation is similar), so it’s not uncommon to see samishii written phonetically in all hiragana to be clear about the nuance.
- Ane ga hikkoshite samishii desu.（姉が引っ越してさみしいです。）= My older sister moved away and I miss her. (Literally: My older sister moved away and I’m lonely.)
You can also conjugate samishii to tell someone you’ll miss them in the future (which makes it perfect for pairing with a phrase for “goodbye” in Japanese).
To change the i-adjective category of Japanese adjectives (like samishii) into a form that specifies you’ll feel that way in the future, drop the final i of the word and add ku (samishii → samishiku). Then, add the relevant conjugation of the verb naru, which means “to become.”
- Kimi ga inaku naru to, samishiku naru yo.（君がいなくなると、さみしくなるよ。）= I’m going to miss you when you’re gone. (Literally: I’m going to be lonely when you’re gone.)
To tell someone that you missed them while they were away, just conjugate the adjective to past tense! Saying “I missed you” in Japanese language settings isn’t as common, but it’s still useful.
- Samishi katta desu yo.（さみしかったですよ。）= I missed you. (Literally: I was lonely.)
Koishii (I’m yearning)
A third way to say “I miss you” in Japanese is to say koishii (恋しい), which has a more literal meaning of “I’m yearning/longing.” As such, it has a stronger, more heartfelt implication. It’s best to reserve this one for romantic partners if you’re using it to say you miss a person.
- Daisuki yo. Icchattara koishii yo.（大好きよ。行っちゃったら恋しいよ。）= I love you. I’ll miss you if you go. (Literally: I love you. I’ll yearn for you if you go.)
However, while you can use koishii to say you miss a person, it’s more common to use it to say you miss an object or a place. It doesn’t hold the same intimate connotation as when you use it in reference to a person.
- Amerika ni kaette irai, washoku ga koishii.（アメリカに帰って以来、和食が恋しい。）= Ever since I came back to the United States, I’ve missed traditional Japanese food. (Literally: Ever since I came back to the United States, I’ve been yearning for traditional Japanese food.)
Key takeaways about saying ‘I miss you’ in Japanese
To say “I miss you” in Japanese, you’ll be working with words that don’t translate directly to “miss” in English. Practice using Japanese phrases like these in context so you can use the right expression for the right situation. In the meantime, remember these three key takeaways:
- The two most common ways to say “I miss you” in Japanese are aitai and samishii.
- For romantic partners or places and things, you can use koishii to say you miss them.
- Remember to use the appropriate verb and adjective conjugations to be accurate about when you miss (or missed) the other person.
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