Osewa ni narimashita: a phrase for ‘thank you for everything you’ve done’

What does “osewa ni narimasita” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “osewa ni narimashita” to mean ‘thank you for everything you have done’, ‘thank you for what you have done’, or such in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this phrase as it is often used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain it in detail based on its grammatical components. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand this phrase more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Defintion and meanings of “osewa ni narimashita”
• Breakdown of “osewa ni narimashita”
  • Example #1: how to say “thank you for everything” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “osewa ni narimashita”
• Summary

Defintion and meanings of “osewa ni narimashita”

Let me start with the definition and meanings as follows:

• osewa ni narimashita – お世話になりました (おせわになりました) : a Japanese phrase for ‘thank you for everything you have done’, ‘thank you for what you have done’, ‘thank you for taking care of me’, or such.

Native speakers normally use this phrase to express their deep appreciation. So, its usage is similar to those of the English phrases above.

The definition and meanings are not so difficult, I think. To understand this phrase more clearly, however, let me explain its grammatical components in detail, one by one.

Breakdown of “osewa ni narimashita”

The phrase consists of the following six components:

• o – お : a prefix used to make the following word polite. In the phrase, this is used to make the polite expression of “sewa”.
• sewa – 世話 (せわ) : a noun meaning ‘care’ or such in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say to what object or to whom an action is directed.
• nari – なり : one conjugation of the verb, “naru”, which means ‘to become’, ‘to turn’, ‘to get’, or such in Japanese. In the phrase, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• mashi – まし : one conjugation of the auxiliary verb, “masu”, which is used after a verb to make it polite. In the phrase, this is used after “nari” to make it sound polite.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese ta form. In the phrase, this is used after the verb phrase, “nari mashi”, to make its past tense form, “nari mashi ta”.

From these six components, we can understand that “osewa ni narimashita” is the past tense form of the Japanese polite expression literally meaning ‘to become the target of the care’. Native speakers really love indirect expressions. So, they express their appreciation by saying “I (or someone else) became the target of your care”.

When we meet new Japanese expressions, we should check their grammatical components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, components tell us a lot about meanings of expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “osewa ni narimashita” through the detailed check above. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “thank you for everything” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kotoshi – 今年 (ことし) : a noun meaning ‘this year’ in Japanese.
• mo – も : a binding particle used to add the meaning of ‘also’, ‘too’, ‘as well’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this is used after “kotoshi” to mean ‘this year as well’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “osewa ni narimashita”. Japanese native speakers use this example sentence as an end-of-year greeting. It’s worth knowing. In this example, the phrase works to express the deep appreciation for what the listener has done for the speaker this year. Due to the role of “mo”, we can see from the sentence that the listener has continuously supported the speaker. This point has not really been reflected in translation, though.

Example #2: another usage of “osewa ni narimashita”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• musume – 娘 (むすめ) : a noun meaning ‘daughter’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “musume” to make the object word in the sentence.

This is another typical usage of “osewa ni narimashita”. In this example, it works together with “musume” which is explicitly referred to as the target of the care from the listener.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “osewa ni narimashita” 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.

• osewa ni narimashita – お世話になりました (おせわになりました) : a Japanese phrase for ‘thank you for everything you have done’, ‘thank you for what you have done’, ‘thank you for taking care of me’, or such. This phrase is the past tense form of the Japanese polite expression literally meaning ‘to become the target of the care’. Japanese native speakers really love indirect expressions. So, they express their deep appreciation by saying “I (or someone else) became the target of your care”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.