Today’s Case
In our previous Japanese language mystery, we learned about the difference between “ください (kudasai)” and “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” as below:
“ください (kudasai)“ → often used together with a verb
“おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” → basically used with a noun
But this raises another question…
When I want some water at a restaurant, I can say “水をください (mizu o kudasai)“, right?
I’m still not completely sure when to use “ください (kudasai)” and when to use “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“…
Decoder’s Notes
“ください (kudasai)“ → often used together with a verb
“おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” → basically used with a noun
Take “お入りください (ohairi kudasai)” and “お入りおねがいします (ohairi onegaishimasu)“, for example.
According to the rule above, “お入りください (ohairi kudasai)” is correct because “お入り (ohairi)” comes from the verb “入る (hairu)“, meaning “to enter.”
But in “水をください (mizu o kudasai)“, we have a completely different structure like “noun + ください”.
We need to dig deeper into the mystery of “ください (kudasai)” and “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“.
Okay, let’s investigate together by looking at some examples.
| 水をください。 Mizu o kudasai. (Water, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. | 水をおねがいします。 Mizu o onegaishimasu. (Water, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. |
| これをください。 Kore o kudasai. (This one, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. | これをおねがいします。 Kore o onegaishimasu. (This one, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. |
| 考える時間をください。 Kangaeru jikan o kudasai. (Please give me some time to think.) | 考える時間をおねがいします。 Kangaeru jikan o onegaishimasu. |
| 禁煙席をください。 Kin-en-seki o kudasai. | 禁煙席をおねがいします。 Kin-en-seki o onegaishimasu. (Can I have a non-smoking seat?) |
| 日本病院まで、ください。 Nihon byouin made, kudasai. *When telling a taxi driver your destination | 日本病院まで、おねがいします。 Nihon byouin made, onegaishimasu. (Can you take me to Nihon Hospital?) *When telling a taxi driver your destination |
| お入りください。 Ohairi kudasai. (Please come in.) | お入りおねがいします。 Ohairi onegaishimasu. |
| 名前を書いてください。 Namae o kaite kudasai. (Please write down your name.) | 名前を書いておねがいします。 Namae o kaite onegaishimasu. |
Which ones are correct, and which ones are wrong?
When we investigate how these expressions are actually used in conversation, we get the following results.
| 水をください。→ 〇 Mizu o kudasai. (Water, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. | 水をおねがいします。→ 〇 Mizu o onegaishimasu. (Water, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. |
| これをください。→ 〇 Kore o kudasai. (This one, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. | これをおねがいします。→ 〇 Kore o onegaishimasu. (This one, please.) *When ordering at a restaurant, etc. |
| 考える時間をください。→ 〇 Kangaeru jikan o kudasai. (Please give me some time to think.) | 考える時間をおねがいします。→ × Kangaeru jikan o onegaishimasu. |
| 禁煙席をください。→ × Kin-en-seki o kudasai. | 禁煙席をおねがいします。→ 〇 Kin-en-seki o onegaishimasu. (Can I have a non-smoking seat?) |
| 日本病院まで、ください。→ × Nihon byouin made kudasai. *When telling a taxi driver your destination | 日本病院まで、おねがいします。→ 〇 Nihon byouin made onegaishimasu. (Can you take me to Nihon Hospital?) *When telling a taxi driver your destination |
| お入りください。→ 〇 Ohairi kudasai. (Please come in.) | お入りおねがいします。→ × Ohairi onegaishimasu. |
| 名前を書いてください。→ 〇 Namae o kaite kudasai. (Please write down your name.) | 名前を書いておねがいします。→ × Namae o kaite onegaishimasu. |
Why do we get these results?
Let’s first investigate the patterns “noun + ください (kudasai)” and “noun + おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“.
We can see that sometimes both “noun + ください (kudasai)” and “noun + おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” are correct, while in other cases, only one of them works.
When using these expressions with nouns, the key is what you are asking for—and what you are asking the other person to do.
Noun + ください (kudasai)/おねがいします (onegaishimasu)
Let’s keep it simple for now.
When it comes to nouns, we can basically think of it this way:
When you want a “thing” → “ください (kudasai)“
When you want a “thing” or a “service” → “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“
| ください (Kudasai) | おねがいします (Onegaishimasu) | |
| Thing | 〇 | 〇 |
| Service | × | 〇 |
“水をください (mizu o kudasai)” vs. “水をおねがいします (mizu o onegaishimasu)“
When you want a thing such as water, you can say:“水をください (mizu o kudasai)“.
The same applies to: “これをください (kore o kudasai)“.
On the other hand, “水をおねがいします (mizu o onegaishimasu)“ can mean that you want the thing itself—water, but it can also carry the idea of: “please bring me some water.” In other words, you may be asking for the service of bringing you the water.
The same applies to: “これをおねがいします (kore o onegaishimasu)“.
So, both “水をください (mizu o kudasai)” and “水をおねがいします (mizu o onegaishimasu)” are perfectly fine.
“考える時間をください (kangaeru jikan o kudasai)” vs. “考える時間をおねがいします (kangaeru jikan o onegaishimasu)“
At first glance, it might seem that either “ください (kudasai)” or “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” should work.
However, when we look at actual usage, we find that “考える時間をください (kangaeru jikan o kudasai)“ is used, while “考える時間をおねがいします (kangaeru jikan o onegaishimasu)” is not.
Why?
It seems that “noun + ください (kudasai)” can be used especially when what you are asking for is something that will become, in a sense, yours.
In “考える時間をください (kangaeru jikan o kudasai)“, the “time” isn’t a physical thing like water. But you want time for yourself – time that you can use to think. That’s why “ください (kudasai)” works naturally here.
Another example would be:
“休みをください (Yasumi o kudasai)“: means “please give me some time off”.
When used with a noun, “ください (kudasai)“ is often a natural choice, especially when what you are asking for will become yours.
On the other hand, “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“ can also be used with a “thing,” as in “水をおねがいします (mizu o onegaishimasu).” However, “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“ tends to be used more often when what you want involves a service or some action from the other person.
“禁煙席をください (kin-en-seki o kudasai)” vs. “禁煙席をおねがいします (kin-en-seki o onegaishimasu)“
In this case, “禁煙席をおねがいします (kin-en-seki o onegaishimasu)“ is the natural expression.
You don’t actually receive or take possession of the non-smoking seat itself. What you want is the service of being given a non-smoking seat / being seated in a non-smoking area.
That’s why:“禁煙席をおねがいします (kin-en-seki o onegaishimasu)“ is the natural choice.
“日本病院まで、ください (Nihon byouin made kudasai)” vs. “日本病院まで、おねがいします (Nihon byouin made onegaishimasu)“
“日本病院まで、おねがいします (Nihon byouin made onegaishimasu)” is the correct expression. This is similar to the non-smoking seat example.
The phrase “日本病院まで、おねがいします (Nihon byouin made onegaishimasu)“” is commonly used when telling a taxi driver where you want to go. You are not asking for Nihon Hospital itself, right? But you are asking the taxi driver for the service of taking you to Nihon Hospital.
That’s why “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” works here.
So far, we’ve been investigating what happens when “ください (kudasai)” and “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)“are used with nouns.
Now let’s move on to verbs.
Verb + ください (kudasai)
“名前を書いてください (Namae o kaite kudasai)” vs. “名前を書いておねがいします (Namae o kaite onegaishimasu)“
In this case, the verb “書く (kaku)“, “to write,” is included.
Let’s go back to the rule we learned earlier:
“ください (kudasai)“ → often used together with a verb
“おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” → basically used with a noun
Therefore, when used with a verb, “ください (kudasai)” is the natural choice.
Thus,“名前を書いてください (namae o kaite kudasai)” is correct.
The Clue
Let’s put everything we’ve discovered so far together.
| ください (Kudasai) | おねがいします (Onegaishimasu) | |
| Thing | 〇 Especially when the thing will become yours | 〇 |
| Service | × | ○ |
| Verb | 〇 | × |
But then Oliver noticed something.
I heard this conversation on the street:
“これを買ってください！おねがいします！
(Kore o katte kudasai! Onegaishimasu!)“
*It means “Please buy me this! Please!”
Shouldn’t it be:
“これを買ってください！ください！
(Kore o katte kudasai! Kudasai!)” instead?
Good catch.
“これを買ってください！おねがいします！(Kore o katte kudasai! Onegaishimasu!)“ is actually correct.
The reason is that “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” can stand on its own as a complete expression, while “ください (kudasai)” cannot normally stand alone in the same way.
With “ください (kudasai),” you normally need to say what you want the other person to give you or do.
That’s why “これを買ってください！(Kore o katte kudasai!)” is followed by “おねがいします！(Onegaishimasu!)“
I see!
Today’s Field Mission
Try using “ください (kudasai)“and “おねがいします (onegaishimasu)” in real conversations, depending on the situation.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. The most important thing is your passion—your desire to communicate, connect, and actually use Japanese.
Case Solved
See you again in the next case.
