How to Say ‘Please’ in Japanese
お願いします
o negai shi masu
[oh neh-gah-ee shee mahss]
💬 Usage Tip: [お願いします] often means more than plain "please" — here it works like "may I have ... ?" or "please tell me ... ." You'll hear it after lots of nouns in service talk, like [お名前をお願いします] or [レシートをお願いします].
Phrase Breakdown
お
o
[oh]
honorific prefix
Part of the polite request expression お願いします.
お名前をお願いします。
Your name, please.
願い
negai
[neh-gah-ee]
request; wish
Comes from 願う, to wish or request, and is used in polite requests.
確認をお願いできますか。
Could I ask for confirmation?
し
shi
[shee]
do; to do
Part of the polite expression お願いします.
変更をお願いしたいです。
I would like to request a change.
ます
masu
[mahss]
polite ending
A polite verb ending used in formal speech and customer service.
よろしくお願いします。
Thank you in advance./Please treat me favorably.
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