Onegaishimasu is the Japanese phrase to make a request, explained

What does “onegaishimasu” mean in Japanese?

I think that “onegaishimasu” is quite often explained together with “yoroshiku” or such in textbooks. Native speakers, however, frequently use it alone to mean just ‘please’ or such in Japanese. First, therefore, I will explain it as an individual phrase in detail based on its grammatical components. And then, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “onegaishimasu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “onegaishimasu”
• What does “onegaishimasu” really mean?
  • Example #1: how to ask for the bill in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “onegaishimasu”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “onegaishimasu”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “onegaishimasu”.

• onegaishimasu – お願いします (おねがいします) : a phrase meaning ‘please’, ‘please take care of something’, ‘please take care of someone’, or such in Japanese.

Japanese native speakers really love indirect expressions. They live in the society where making no direct reference to people or things is considered to be polite. So, they tend to omit the subject or the object or even both in a sentence or phrase. Unfortunately, “onegaishimasu” is often used in formal situations. Therefore we need to assume what the speaker has omitted to be polite, and this is the reason its translation can vary from case to case. Let me take some examples: as a part of self-introduction, it can mean ‘please take care of me’; as a request for an item, it means ‘please give it to me’; in general, it just means ‘please’.

To understand this phrase more clearly, let me explain it in detail based on its grammatical components.

What does “onegaishimasu” really mean?

Grammatically, “onegaishimasu” consists of the following two components:

• onegai shi – お願いし (おねがいし) : one conjugation of the verb, “onegai suru”, which means ‘to ask’, ‘to request’, ‘to wish’, or ‘to beg’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with “masu”.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the phrase, this is used after “onegai shi” to make it sound polite.

From these two components, we can understand that “onegaishimasu” is the masu form of “onegai suru” and literally means ‘to ask’, ‘to request’, ‘to wish’, or ‘to beg’ politely in Japanese. Probably, therefore, “I’m asking you” or such would be suitable for its literal translation.

When we meet new Japanese expressions, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, grammatical components tell us a lot about meanings of expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “onegaishimasu” through the detailed check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “onegaishimasu” in detail based on its grammatical components. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to ask for the bill in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• sumimasen – すみません : a Japanese phrase for ‘excuse me’ or such.
• okaikei – お会計 (おかいけい) : a noun meaning ‘bill’ or ‘check’ in Japanese.
• wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “okaikei” to make the object in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “onegaishimasu”. In this example, it works as a part of the commonly-used expression, “okaikei wo onegaishimasu”, which means ‘the bill please’ in Japanese. The original meaning of the expression is more like ‘please give me the bill’, as the phrase works as a part of the request for the item.

Example #2: another usage of “onegaishimasu”

Below are the new words used in the example.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• namae – 名前 (なまえ) : a noun meaning ‘name’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi no namae” to make the subject in the first sentence.
• ichigo – いちご : a noun meaning ‘strawberry’ in Japanese. This can also be used as a name.
• desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “ichigo” to make it sound polite.
• yoroshiku – よろしく : a Japanese phrase meaning ‘to be kind to me’, ‘to take care of me’, or such.

This is another typical usage of “onegaishimasu”. In this example, it works as a part of the self-introduction to mean ‘please take care of me’ in Japanese.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “onegaishimasu” in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• onegaishimasu – お願いします (おねがいします) : a phrase meaning ‘please’, ‘please take care of something’, ‘please take care of someone’, or such in Japanese. Grammatically, this is the masu form of “onegai suru” and literally means ‘to ask’, ‘to request’, ‘to wish’, or ‘to beg’ politely in Japanese. Probably, therefore, “I’m asking you” or such would be suitable for its literal translation.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.