How to Say Please in Japanese - 5 Ways! (2023)

I've gone through a lot of avenues to say thank you the other day, so it only makes sense to overwrite please as well. Today's lesson is about how to say please in Japanese.

If you're planning on traveling to Japan this year or next, then this should be among the top 10 words you MUST know!

You'll be amazed at how much you can achieve when you use body language (pointing, gestures, etc.) along with request andthank you in japanese.

Let's look at the many different ways to express it and the situations that work for each one.

1. kudasai

The first way of saying “please” in Japanese that I wanted to cover today is 下さい (kudasai), which in hiragana is usually just written as ください instead of its kanji 下. You'll see it both ways though, so now you know what it looks like.

This word can be easily understoodplease give meorplease do it for meand is something you will probably hear and use in Japanese every day.

I wanted to give some example sentences that will help show these two possible meanings to make them easier to understand, so let's get into some of them right away.

please give me this

Can I have this.

wund o kudasai.

–

Please give me a copy of the document.

Please give me a copy of the documents.

shorui no kopī o kudasai.

–

I'll have green tea, please.

I'd like some tea, please.

ocha o kudasai.

For this first use of ください, all you really have to do is specify the noun you want, followed bythe (w)o particleand then please

With this pattern of "NOUNをください" you can ask for just about anything you can think of.

If you then combine it with words like これ (kore) for "this" and それ (wound) for "that", you don't even need to know the names of the things you want. You can simply point or point at the person listening.

Let's move on to the second option that we can usekudasai.

Please sit down.

Please sit down.

Suwatte kudasai.

–

Please lend (it) to me.

Please borrow.

kashite kudasai.

–

Please listen to what I'm saying!

Please listen to me!

hanashi o kiite kudasai yo!

Any time you want to ask someone to do something, you can use the verb in combination with ください to politely say, "Please do that."

Here's the trick, you have to put the verb (the action you want the other person to take) in histe-Formbefore combining it with Please.

If you're not sure how to conjugate a specific verb correctly, I recommend you type itJisho.organd then press theshow flexionsbutton on the left. This should bring up a list showing many different forms of the verb.

Here is an example of the verb "to drink" which is 飲む (nomu):

With this online dictionary, it's pretty easy to find the right form, which you can then use for the expression.

2. fuck

There are many different words in Japanese that all translate to the same English word when you put them in a dictionary or translator.

This used to frustrate me immensely because I never figured out why Japanese has three words when we only have the one in English. Also, I never knew when to use one form or the other in a given situation.

This is a common problem encountered by many beginners, and the confusion can be cleared up fairly quickly with a good explanation.

That's what today's lesson is all about!

This next sentence we're going to learn is essentially the same as ください, expect it to bethe informal versionfrom that.

The word I'm talking about is 頂戴 (chōdai), which can be written in a variety of ways, such as the one you just saw, or fully hiragana as ちょうだい, or even an alternative kanji spelling as in 頂だい.

In general, it is almost always written entirely in hiragana.

So if you've read all about Please in Section 1 of this article, then you should already know how Please is used and understood.

Please give me a bite (of it)!

give me a bite

hito kuchi chōdai!

The difference between these two word forms is that ください is the standard, polite way, while ちょうだい is the informal way, which you would be more likely to use with close friends and family.

A final difference is that please is used by JapaneseWomenmuch more common than Japanese men, so if you're a man then it might be safer to stick with ください to avoid sounding too feminine when speaking Japanese.

3.onegai shimasu

Now we come to the otherHauptWay of saying please in Japanese (the first was please).

The word for this part is お願いします (o negai shimasu) and if translated literally into English it would sound like "I ask you to do me an honorable favor."

However, お願いします is pretty much fixed at this point, as it's commonly used in Japanese for all sorts of situations.

The most common situation is when you entrust a matter to someone else or rely on them to do something (do a good job, be there on time, etc.) and end the encounter with お願いします.

One more please, please (while they take your picture).

one more please

mō ichi mai onegai shimasu

–

Some wine, please.

I would like to have a glass of wine please.

wain o o negai shimasu

Well, that last example could have been substituted for please and it would have meant essentially the same thing, but there are subtle differences between these two words.

The word please is taken into accountsonkeigowhat "Honour Language" means and its purposeelevate the listener's position. That is, the person you are speaking to.

The word please is taken into accountkenjougowhat "humble language" means and its purposelower the position of the speaker. In other words, you bring your own position down when you use it (thus indirectly raising the other person).

So here's the big takeaway when it comes to those two words:

There are many instances where you can use them interchangeably. The most common example is every time you ask for something, such as B. a drink.

Aside from this similarity between the two, there are notable differences that you should be aware of. For example, use only thete-Formof verbs with please (or give me).

On the other hand, there are many sentences where お願いします is an indispensable part and nothing else will do. A good example is when you meet someone for the first time.

Nice to meet you (literally: please treat me kindly)

Thanks

yoroshiku onegaishimasu

Another common situation is when someone says they will do something and you just want to say something along the lines of "Yes, please do that." It would be really great of you.”

In these cases, you can simply respond with enthusiasm by saying please.

For real? Well then, yes please!

really? Then please!

hontō desu ka?jā, o negai shimasu!

Keep this understanding of the word in mind, and then pay attention to how it's used in native materials like books or shows to really get a feel for when to use it, too.

4. go on (dōzo)

You know that from the movies when someone walks into a rich person's house and the butler shows them around and then says something like, "Please make yourself comfortable while the gentleman comes back."

Well, that kind of "please," where you're essentially giving people permission to do something, uses a specific word in Japanese.

The word is どうぞ (dōzo) and it's also pretty handy to know.

It may have some other uses e.g. B. if a person brings you something that is yours (like a meal or your belongings) they will usually use it.

Here's your coat.

Please take your coat.

anata no kōto o dōzo.

But for the context of this article, we can only focus on the situations where it corresponds to EnglishYou're welcome.

Please this way (if you show someone the way).

This direction, please.

Kochira e dozo.

–

Please come in.

Please come in.

dozo, o hairi kudasai.

Hey try it! We used two words for please in the last one!

You can never be too polite in Japanese (^_^)b

An interesting sentence in which どうぞ is a regular feature is when giving someone a gift. Literally, the standard phrase to use is: "This is a boring thing, but please (accept it anyway)."

Please accept this gift.

It's a boring thing, but here we go.

tsumaranai mono desu kedo, dōzo.

5. Bitte (puriizu)

And of course I just had to end the list with the English loanword プリーズ (puriizu) which is basically the exact same word, expect to replace the English “L” with the Japanese “R” and then each katakana like the Japanese do pronounce.

I hardly ever hear that last word used. If I were you I would save this one as a last resort. Or if you goof around while using it, that's probably fine.

But the first four are really about the money when it comes to saying “please” in Japanese.