Polite Requests: てください (Please do)
Transform the connective て-form into a courteous direct request with ください, and learn when direct requests become too demanding for social superiors and bosses.
Polite Request (〜てください)
namae o kaite kudasai
Please write your name.
Polite Request (てください) vs Invitation (ませんか)
Micro-Shiftここに お名前を 書いてください。
Requesting someone to perform an actionPlease write your name here.
〜てください asks the other person to complete a specific task.
Example Sentences
Please call the front desk
Please contact the police
Mental Model: Handing the Action to the Listener
〜てください is the foundational formula for everyday polite instructions, requests, and gentle directives:
- Take the connective て-form of any verb.
- Append ください (the honorific imperative of 下さる (to bestow)).
- Meaning: “Please do [action] for me / Kindly perform [action].”
Core Everyday Survival Requests
Master these high-frequency phrases used across Japanese daily life:
- In the classroom or office:
- 見てください。 (“Please look.”)
- 聞いてください。 (“Please listen.”)
- 読んでください。 (“Please read.”)
- ここに 書いてください。 (“Please write here.”)
- Out in the city:
- ちょっと待ってください。 (“Please wait a moment.”)
- 日本語で 話してください。 (“Please speak in Japanese.”)
- もう一度 言ってください。 (“Please say that once more.”)
The Politeness Ceiling: The Superior Trap
While 〜てください contains the polite word ください, it is grammatically an imperative request—you are still telling the other person what to do!
Because of Japanese vertical hierarchy, using 〜てください with superiors requires great caution:
- Safe to use with: Store clerks, train staff, taxi drivers, peers, friends, classmates, and subordinates.
- Rude or bossy with: Your boss, company clients, senior professors, or elderly strangers!
When asking a boss or client to do something (e.g. signing a document), never say *ここに 書いてください. Instead, use humble question forms:
• こちらに ご記入いただけますでしょうか。 (“Would you be so kind as to fill this in?”).
Softening the Request
To make an everyday request sound warmer and less abrasive, precede it with softening buffers:
- Add すみませんが (Excuse me, but...): すみませんが、教えてください。 (“Excuse me, but could you please teach/tell me?”).
- Add ちょっと (A little bit): ちょっと 待ってください。 (“Please wait just a moment.”).
Conjugation
| Base form | Conjugated | Form |
|---|---|---|
| 見る | 見てください | Ichidan: drop る, add てください |
| 聞く | 聞いてください | Godan: ku → ite + kudasai |
| 待つ | 待ってください | Godan: tsu → tte + kudasai |
| する | してください | Irregular: suru → shite kudasai |
In Dialogue
Kenjiすみません、駅はどこですか。
Excuse me, where is the station?
- Staff
Tips and Common Traps
Quick Check
Which form correctly requests someone to write their name politely?