Please in Japanese: ください (kudasai) and お願いします (onegai shimasu)
Please in Japanese is ください (kudasai) or お願いします (おねがいします, onegai shimasu). Use ください after a thing you want, or after a verb in the te-form. Use お願いします after a thing or a service, or on its own. お願いします is the humbler of the two, and often the safer choice with strangers.
ください is written with four hiragana: く, だ, さ and い. お願いします has one kanji, 願.
Two things confuse learners:
- Both mean "please", but they attach to different things. ください can follow a verb in the te-form. お願いします can't.
- ください has kanji, but it's usually written in kana. The dictionary gives 下さい (下), but marks the word as usually written in kana. Japan's 2010 government guideline on kanji in official documents writes 〜てください in kana, as in 話してください.
Kudasai meaning: “please give me”
ください is the command form of くださる (kudasaru, “to give”), an honorific verb for someone giving something to you. So 水をください (mizu o kudasai), with 水 (みず, mizu, “water (esp. cool or cold)”), politely asks someone to give you water.
To ask for a thing, say the thing, then を, then ください. Tofugu notes that in speech, を is often dropped.
The dictionary gives ください a second meaning: ください (kudasai, “please (do for me)”). That's the use after a verb, covered below.
Onegai and onegai shimasu meaning
お願いします is お願い (おねがい, onegai, “request”) followed by します. お願い comes from the verb 願う (ねがう, negau, “to beg”). A Japanese dictionary calls お願い the humble, or simply more refined, form of 願い, "a wish". JMdict marks お願いします as humble.
So the two words are polite in opposite directions. ください raises the other person, the one who gives. お願いします lowers you, the one who asks.
Two more forms are worth knowing:
- お願いいたします (おねがいいたします, onegai itashimasu) is more formal still, for business and very polite situations.
- Plain お願い is the casual version. Its second meaning in the dictionary is お願い (おねがい, onegai, “please”), and between friends it often does the job on its own.
Kudasai vs onegaishimasu: which one to use
What comes before the word decides:
| What comes before | Say | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A thing you want | Either | 水をください (mizu o kudasai), or 水お願いします (mizu onegai shimasu) |
| A verb in the te-form | ください | ちょっと待ってください (chotto matte kudasai, "please wait") |
| A service, such as a taxi ride | お願いします | 東京駅までお願いします (Tōkyō eki made onegai shimasu, "Tokyo Station, please") |
| A person, on the phone | お願いします | 和子さんお願いします (Kazuko-san onegai shimasu, "May I speak to Kazuko?") |
| Nothing: yes to an offer | お願いします | お願いします, on its own |
After a te-form verb, a Stack Exchange answer says not to use お願いします. For a taxi or a phone call, it says not to use ください.
A noun that names an action can take お願いします or お願いいたします, though. To ask someone to check something, a Mynavi News article on business Japanese recommends ご確認のほどよろしくお願いいたします, from 確認 (かくにん, kakunin, “confirmation”).
In a restaurant, many people use the polite お水 (おみず, omizu, “water”): お水お願いします.
Which is more polite? Both are polite. お願いします is the humbler one, and the Stack Exchange answer calls it the more polite and formal. ください is honorific, but it's also a command form. Mynavi warns that, depending on the relationship, some listeners may feel ordered about, so take care at work.
To call a waiter over, you can also say お願いします. Many people start with すみません (sumimasen, “excuse me”) instead.
Te kudasai: asking someone to do something
To ask someone to do something, put the verb in the te-form and add ください. ちょっと待ってください uses ちょっと (chotto) and 待つ (まつ, matsu, “to wait”).
Tofugu's examples include やめてください, "please stop it", from やめる (yameru, “to stop (an activity)”). To ask someone not to do something, use ないでください: マネしないでください (mane shinaide kudasai), "please don't copy me", from マネ (mane, “imitating”).
In casual speech with friends and family, Tofugu notes, you can drop ください and use the te-form alone: ちょっと待って (chotto matte).
In shops and on signs, you'll meet a politer pattern: お or ご, then a verb or a noun, then ください. Four you'll see often:
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| おかけください | おかけください | okake kudasai | please sit down; please have a seat | A host or staff, to a guest |
| ごらんください | ごらんください | goran kudasai | please look at it | Showing you something |
| ご注意ください | ごちゅういください | gochūi kudasai | please be careful; please take care | Signs and announcements |
| ご遠慮ください | ごえんりょください | goenryo kudasai | please refrain (from) | Signs: no smoking, no photos |
Don't add して. Mynavi notes it's ご理解ください, not ご理解してください, from 理解 (りかい, rikai, “understanding”).
For a favour, Tofugu suggests 〜てもらえませんか, "could you…?". With a boss, a teacher or a client, Bunpro gives the humbler 〜ていただけませんか. Mynavi also suggests 〜てくださいますか, which turns the request into a question.
Dōzo (douzo): the please for offering
どうぞ (dōzo) is the please you say when you offer something or give permission. ください and お願いします ask. どうぞ offers.
Handing something over, people say はい、どうぞ: the dictionary gives どうぞ the meaning "here you are" too.
Two set phrases: お先にどうぞ (おさきにどうぞ, osaki ni dōzo, “please go ahead”), and どうぞよろしく (dōzo yoroshiku, “pleased to meet you”), which goes with introductions (see Hello in Japanese).
Other ways to say please
| Japanese | Reading | Romaji | Meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ちょうだい | ちょうだい | chōdai | please (give me; do for me) | Casual; one dictionary says used mostly by women and children |
| 頼む | たのむ | tanomu | please; please do; help me out here | Colloquial |
| どうか | どうか | dōka | please; if you would; would you mind | Polite, heartfelt |
| 何卒 | なにとぞ | nanitozo | please; kindly; I beg of you | Humble and formal |
| よろしくお願いします | よろしくおねがいします | yoroshiku onegai shimasu | please remember me; please help me; please treat me well | Introductions, and starting to work with someone |
ちょうだい sounds friendly, not rude, but keep it for family and close friends. どうか and 何卒 go before a request, to make it more earnest.
Practise please and polite requests
Twelve everyday requests and polite questions, from あれをください to お待ちください, in a two-minute quiz.
Questions about please in Japanese
What does kudasai mean?
Kudasai (ください) means "please give me" or, after a verb, "please do". It's the command form of くださる (kudasaru), an honorific verb for giving.
What does onegai mean?
Onegai (お願い) means "a request" or "a favour", and said on its own, it means "please". Add します for the polite お願いします (onegai shimasu).
Is it kudasai or onegaishimasu?
It depends on what comes before it. A te-form verb takes ください, a service or a person on the phone takes お願いします, and a thing can take either.
Is kudasai impolite?
No, ください (kudasai) is polite. But it's a command form, so for a favour, 〜てもらえませんか sounds softer, and with a boss, 〜ていただけませんか.
How do you use onegai shimasu?
Say お願いします (onegai shimasu) after the thing or service you want, as in 東京駅までお願いします (Tōkyō eki made onegai shimasu). On its own, it accepts an offer: "yes, please".
What can I say instead of please?
Say どうぞ (dōzo) when you offer something. With friends, the te-form alone (待って), お願い or ちょうだい work.
Why do Japanese say "please take care of me"?
"Please take care of me" is a common, loose translation of よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu). Word for word, it's closer to "please treat me well": よろしく (yoroshiku, “well”) plus お願いします. Hello in Japanese shows when to say it.
What does yamete kudasai mean?
Yamete kudasai (やめてください) means "please stop". It's やめる (yameru), "to stop", in the te-form, plus ください.
Sources
- Readings, meanings and register notes: JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0), including its notes that ください is honorific and usually written in kana, that お願いします and お願いいたします are humble, that お水 is polite, that ちょうだい is familiar and feminine, 頼む colloquial, どうか polite and 何卒 humble.
- ください as the command form of くださる, and its two uses: Kotobank (Digital Daijisen), 下さい.
- お願い as the humble or refined form of 願い: Kotobank (Digital Daijisen), お願い.
- どうぞ and its meanings: Kotobank (Digital Daijisen and Nihon Kokugo Daijiten), どうぞ.
- ちょうだい used mostly by women and children: Kotobank (Digital Daijisen and Nihon Kokugo Daijiten), 頂戴.
- 〜てください in kana: Japan's 2010 cabinet directive on kanji in official documents (公用文における漢字使用等について), as reproduced by Kanagawa Prefectural Police.
- ください after nouns and te-form verbs, dropping を, ないでください, the te-form alone with friends, and 〜てもらえませんか: Tofugu, ください.
- The examples with things, verbs, taxis and phone calls, where not to use each, calling a waiter, honorific ください and humble お願いします, and accepting an offer: Japanese Stack Exchange, When to use ください or お願いします in requests.
- ください as a command form, 〜てくださいますか, and ご理解ください rather than ご理解してください: Mynavi News (2022).
- ご確認のほどよろしくお願いいたします: Mynavi News (updated 2023).
- 〜ていただけませんか for a boss, a teacher or a client: Bunpro, ていただけませんか.
- Waiting for a native speaker's check: the points about the safer choice with strangers, nouns with お願いします, お水 when ordering, the softer requests with a boss, お願いいたします in business, お願い between friends, the te-form alone with friends, calling a waiter, ordering in a shop, the notes on the sign phrases, ちょうだい, 頼む, and どうか and 何卒 before a request.