How to Say ‘Please say it slowly.’ in Japanese
ゆっくり話してください
yukkuri hanashi te kudasai
[yook-koo-ree hah-nah-shee teh kudasai]
🇯🇵 In Japan: People are generally happy to slow down for a visitor, so don't hesitate to ask. Pairing it with すみません "excuse me" first makes it land even more gently.
Phrase Breakdown
ゆっくり
yukkuri
[yook-koo-ree]
slowly
An adverb meaning slowly. Useful when listening is difficult.
ゆっくり話してください、わかりません。
Please speak slowly, I don’t understand.
話してください
hanashi te kudasai
please speak
The te-form 話して (speak) + ください (please).
もう一度話してください。
Please say it once more.
Words in this phrase
話し
hanashi
[hah-nah-shee]
talk; speak (verb stem)
Stem of 話す (to talk). Used before endings like たい (want to).
人と話したいです。
I want to talk with people.
て
te
[teh]
te-form ending
This ending connects actions, like 'cut and...' in instructions.
てをつけると、つぎのどうさにつなげられます。
When you add -te, you can connect it to the next action.
ください
kudasai
[kudasai]
please (do)
Used to make a polite request.
手伝ってください。
Please help me.
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