To begin with, both of them are abbreviations.
- tadaima is short for
tadaima modorimashita ただ今戻りました - okaeri is short for
okaerinasai お帰りなさい
By the way, when a character is leaving home the words ittekimasu 行ってきます and itterasshai 行ってらっしゃい are used instead.
Tadaima Modorimashita
The word tadaima is short for tadaima modorimashita, and the phrase tadaima modorimashita, or rather tada ima modorimashita, can be divided into three word:
- tada ただ
Just. Only. Merely. (adverb) - ima 今
Now. (the time, noun and adverb) - modorimashita 戻りました
Come back. (verb modoru conjugated to the polite past tense)
So tadaima means "I came back just now" in Japanese.
Do note that tadaima can only be used if you did come back "just now." For example, if some time has passed since you "came back," then you can't use tadaima anymore. In that case, you can use the words modotta 戻った and modorimashita 戻りました, which mean "to have come back," not necessarily just now.
Do note that tadaima can only be used if you did come back "just now." For example, if some time has passed since you "came back," then you can't use tadaima anymore. In that case, you can use the words modotta 戻った and modorimashita 戻りました, which mean "to have come back," not necessarily just now.
Okaerinasai
The word okaerinasai お帰りなさい comes from the verb kaeru 帰る which means "to go home."
Normally, a verb which is conjugated to its nasai form becomes an order, in fact, kaerinasai 帰りなさい is an order. If you say kaerinasai alone you're telling someone to go to his home, but you're not welcoming him, you're most likely just telling him off.
What changes that here is the prefix o お. This is the same prefix that appears in words like oniichan, oneechan, okaasan, otousan, etc. By using this prefix you're artificially making the word more respectful, which could be interpreted as "please go home." Though it can still be interpreted as telling someone to go away, it can also be interpreted as "please come home," that is, "welcome home," if home is where the speaker is at.
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