Polite to Host
Cultural · Etiquette
You
こちらのスリッパをどうぞお使いください。
こちらのスリッパをどうぞおつかいください。
Please use these slippers.
Romaji: Kochira no surippa wo dōzo o-tsukai kudasai. / Reply Romaji: Arigatō gozaimasu.
Reply
ありがとうございます。
ありがとうございます。
Thank you.
Gesture & etiquette
Point toward the slippers and gesture for the guest to step up from the genkan. The host typically steps back to make space. When entering a tatami room, remove slippers at the threshold before stepping onto the tatami.
After removing shoes at the genkan, a host offers slippers for moving through the home. Separate toilet slippers (labeled '便所' or 'WC') are used only inside the bathroom — forgetting to swap back is a common and awkward foreigner error. Tatami rooms require removing slippers entirely.
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