How to Say Please in Japanese: 15+ Polite Requests for Every Situation

The Short Answer

The most common way to say please in Japanese is Onegaishimasu (お願いします, oh-neh-gah-ee shee-mahs). It is the polite, all-purpose request word that works everywhere from a convenience store to a corporate boardroom. For specific actions, attach Kudasai (ください, koo-dah-sah-ee) to a verb or noun: Matte kudasai (Please wait), Mizu o kudasai (Water, please).

Japanese is spoken by approximately 125 million people, and according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs' 2023 National Language Survey, over 60% of Japanese adults reported using keigo (honorific language) daily in their professional lives. Saying "please" is not just politeness in Japan; it is an entire system of social calibration, where the form of your request signals your relationship to the listener, the weight of the favor, and your social awareness.

"In Japanese, the act of requesting is fundamentally an imposition on the listener's autonomy. The language has evolved elaborate indirect strategies to minimize this imposition. The more you soften the request, the more respectful it becomes."

(Brown & Levinson, Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage, Cambridge University Press, 1987)

This guide covers 15+ ways to say please in Japanese, organized from standard polite forms through formal business language to casual expressions. Each entry includes Japanese script, romaji pronunciation, and cultural context so you can match the right "please" to every situation.

Quick Reference: Japanese "Please" Expressions at a Glance

The Two Core Systems: お願いします vs ください

Before diving into individual phrases, understanding the fundamental split in Japanese "please" expressions will save you from common mistakes. Japanese has two main request systems, and they are not interchangeable.

お願いします (Onegaishimasu) comes from the verb negau (願う, to wish/request). It literally means "I humbly make a request." You use it when asking for something abstract, requesting a favor, or when the specific action is already understood from context.

ください (Kudasai) comes from the verb kudasaru (下さる, to give, humble form). It literally means "please give" or "please do." You attach it to specific verbs or nouns to make concrete requests.

Standard Polite Requests

These are the forms you will use most often in everyday Japanese. They work in shops, restaurants, offices, and with anyone you are not close friends with.

お願いします

Onegaishimasu is the Swiss Army knife of Japanese requests. You will hear it dozens of times a day in Japan: at train stations, in offices, at restaurants, and in everyday conversation. It pairs naturally with nouns: Koohii o onegaishimasu (Coffee, please), Kore o onegaishimasu (This one, please).

One of the most important expressions in Japanese, Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (よろしくお願いします), uses this same base. It roughly means "I look forward to your favorable consideration" and appears at the end of self-introductions, business emails, and virtually any situation where you are establishing or maintaining a relationship.

ください

Kudasai is the action-oriented "please." To use it with verbs, you need the te-form: tabete kudasai (please eat), mite kudasai (please look), kite kudasai (please come). With nouns, add the particle o: Mizu o kudasai (Water, please).

In written Japanese, you will see kudasai written in both hiragana (ください) and kanji (下さい). The hiragana form is more common in modern usage, and NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute recommends hiragana for most everyday contexts.

Formal and Humble Requests

Japanese keigo (honorific language) has multiple levels, and requests are where these levels matter most. The Agency for Cultural Affairs' survey found that improper keigo usage in business settings was cited as "uncomfortable" by 78% of respondents. These forms help you navigate professional Japan.

お願いいたします

The key difference from onegaishimasu is the verb: itashimasu (いたします) is the humble form of shimasu (します). This single word upgrade moves your request from standard polite to business-formal. You will hear it constantly in Japanese offices and in customer-facing roles.

お願い申し上げます

This is the highest formality level for requests. You will encounter it in train station announcements (Gochuui o onegai moushiagemasu, "We humbly request your attention"), corporate letters, and formal ceremonies. Using it in casual conversation would sound absurdly stiff.

〜ていただけますか

This form works beautifully in professional settings because it does not command; it asks. By framing your request as "Would I be able to receive the favor of...?" you give the listener room to decline, which is a fundamental principle of Japanese politeness.

〜ていただけませんか

Here is where Japanese politeness reaches its most fascinating point. The negative question (-masen ka) is more polite than the positive question (-masu ka). Why? Because asking "Wouldn't you be able to...?" implies you expect the answer might be no, which signals that you understand you are imposing and you are giving the listener an easy way out. Brown and Levinson identified this as a universal politeness strategy, but Japanese has grammaticalized it more thoroughly than almost any other language.

Casual Requests

Among close friends and family, the formal request forms sound stilted and distant. These casual expressions are what you will hear in everyday life among people who know each other well. For more on navigating casual versus formal Japanese, visit our Japanese learning page.

お願い

Onegai is simply onegaishimasu with the polite verb ending chopped off. It is warm and familiar, the way you would ask a friend to pass the remote or a sibling to help with something. You will hear it constantly in Japanese films and anime.

ちょうだい

Choudai has an interesting history. It derives from the humble expression choudai suru (頂戴する, to humbly receive), but over centuries it shifted to casual usage. Today, it carries a soft, slightly endearing quality. Children use it with parents, and it appears frequently in casual speech among women. Men use it too, though less commonly. A man saying choudai to a close friend is perfectly natural.

頼む

Tanomu is direct and carries a certain weight. It acknowledges that you are asking for something substantial: "I'm relying on you." You will hear it in Japanese films frequently, especially from male characters. The polite form, tanomimasu (頼みます), exists but is less common than onegaishimasu.

〜てもらえる？

This is the casual version of the formal 〜ていただけますか pattern. It swaps the humble itadaku for the plain morau (to receive a favor) and drops the polite -masu ending. It strikes the perfect balance between casual and considerate: you are still framing your request as a question, but without the stiffness of keigo.

Keigo Levels in Requests: A Complete Map

Understanding where each "please" form falls on the politeness scale is crucial. Here is the full spectrum from most casual to most formal:

How to Respond When Someone Requests Something

Knowing how to respond to requests is just as important as making them. Here are the most common responses:

The response Kashikomarimashita (かしこまりました) deserves special attention. You will hear it constantly in Japanese service settings: hotels, restaurants, and shops. It is the humble acknowledgment "Certainly, I understand and will comply," and it is one of the hallmarks of Japanese hospitality culture.

Special Expressions: よろしくお願いします

No guide to "please" in Japanese would be complete without addressing Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (よろしくお願いします). This expression has no direct English equivalent. It translates roughly to "Please treat me favorably" or "I'm counting on your goodwill," and it appears in an extraordinary range of situations:

• Self-introductions: "I'm Tanaka. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." (Please be good to me)
• Starting a project: "Let's work well together. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu." (I'm counting on you)
• Email closings: Functions like "Best regards" but with the added nuance of requesting continued goodwill
• After asking a favor: Reinforces your gratitude and dependence on the other person

The Japan Foundation's educational materials list Yoroshiku onegaishimasu as one of the top five most essential Japanese phrases for learners, alongside Arigatou gozaimasu and Sumimasen.

Practice With Real Japanese Content

Reading about request forms is a solid foundation, but hearing them used naturally by native speakers is what makes the difference between textbook knowledge and real fluency. Japanese dramas and films are filled with request language. A business drama like Hanzawa Naoki showcases ultra-formal keigo, while slice-of-life anime demonstrates casual forms like onegai and choudai in everyday family settings.

Wordy lets you watch Japanese movies and shows with interactive subtitles. You can tap on any request expression to see its politeness level, literal meaning, and cultural context in real time. Instead of memorizing a politeness chart, you absorb the nuances from real conversations with authentic intonation and social context.

For more Japanese content, explore our blog for guides including the best movies to learn Japanese. You can also visit our Japanese learning page to start practicing today.