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How to Say ‘What can I help you with?’ in Japanese

どういったことでしょうか。

dou itsu ta koto deshou ka

[doh EET tah koh-toh de-sho-u kah]

Phrase Breakdown

どう

dou

[doh]

how / what

Used to ask “how?” or “what’s wrong?” In どうしましたか it means “what happened / what’s the matter?”

Example

どうしましたか、何かありましたか。

What’s the matter—did something happen?

いっ

itsu

[EET]

say (part of どういった 'what kind of')

Contracted stem of 言う 'to say'; in どういった it means 'what kind of'.

Example

どういったご用件ですか。

What kind of matter is it?

た

[tah]

past tense ending

This ending completes the polite past tense form.

Example

空席がございました。

There were vacant seats.

こと

koto

[koh-toh]

thing; matter; (nominalizer)

Turns verbs/clauses into a “thing/matter.” In relationship talk: 「話したいこと」 = “something I want to talk about.”

Example

話したいことがある。

There’s something I want to talk about.

でしょう

deshou

[de-sho-u]

Is it

Used when making polite inquiries or assumptions.

Example

お荷物はこちらでよろしいでしょうか。

Is this luggage okay here?

か

[kah]

question marker

Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.

Example

A席はありますか。

Are there A seats available?

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