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How to Say ‘Please.’ in Japanese

お願いします。

o negai shi masu

[oh neh-guy shee mahss]

💬 Usage Tip: [お願いします] is amazingly useful: "please," "I ask for your help," or "that will be all right." It is one of Japan’s magic politeness phrases.

🇯🇵 In Japan: You can use this when handing over forms, asking for assistance, or closing a request politely.

Phrase Breakdown

o

[oh]

honorific prefix

Polite prefix that makes the expression more respectful.

Example

お願いします。

Please / I ask for your help.

願い

negai

[neh-guy]

wish; request

From 願う, expressing a request or asking for something.

Example

確認をお願いします。

Please check it.

shi

[shee]

do

Stem of する, part of the polite request expression.

Example

よろしくお願いします。

Thank you in advance / Please treat me well.

ます

masu

[mahss]

polite verb ending

Polite ending in the expression お願いします.

Example

これをお願いします。

This one, please.

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