Requests with ください in Japanese

In Brief

Use noun + をください to ask for a thing: 水をください means “Water, please.” Use a verb in its て-form + ください to ask someone to do something: 待ってください means “Please wait.” Both patterns are polite and useful, though てください can sound fairly direct when the request is a substantial favor.

Overview

ください is one of the most useful words in beginner Japanese. It lets you ask for an item in a shop or restaurant, and it combines with a verb to request an action. At A1, the two essential patterns are 水をください (“Water, please”) and 待ってください (“Please wait”). Once you know them, you can handle many practical situations with a small amount of vocabulary.

English often expresses a request by adding please to a question or command. Japanese does not have one word that can simply be inserted anywhere with exactly the same effect. ください belongs in specific sentence patterns: it follows the thing requested, or it follows the て-form of the requested action. Japanese also commonly leaves “I,” “me,” and “you” unspoken when the context makes them clear.

These are polite forms, but “polite” does not always mean “soft.” A staff member may naturally say ここに書いてください (“Please write here”) because giving an instruction is part of the situation. Asking a friend to do a large favor with the same pattern may feel more like a directive. Learn the simple forms first; later sections explain gentler alternatives.

How It Works

Asking for a thing: noun + をください

A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea. Put the requested noun before をください:

Pattern	Meaning
noun + を + ください	Please give me / provide the noun
水をください。	Water, please.
メニューをください。	A menu, please.
これをください。	This one, please.

The particle を marks what is being requested. In casual service encounters it is sometimes omitted—コーヒーください is common in speech—but コーヒーをください is the complete beginner pattern and is never a bad starting point.

Japanese usually does not state the recipient. 水をください is understood as a request for the speaker or the speaker’s group. It is therefore more natural than trying to insert a word for “me.”

You can add a number and a counter (a word used to count a particular kind of item):

• コーヒーを一つください。 — One coffee, please.
• 切符を二枚ください。 — Two tickets, please.
• このパンを三つください。 — Three of these breads, please.

これ, それ, and あれ mean “this one,” “that one near you,” and “that one over there.” Before a noun, use この, その, or あの instead: これをください (“This one, please”), but この本をください (“This book, please”).

Asking for an action: て-form + ください

The て-form is a verb form ending in て or で that connects a verb to other grammar. To request an action, place ください directly after it:

Dictionary form	て-form	Request	Meaning
待つ	待って	待ってください。	Please wait.
言う	言って	言ってください。	Please say it.
書く	書いて	書いてください。	Please write.
読む	読んで	読んでください。	Please read.
見る	見て	見てください。	Please look.
食べる	食べて	食べてください。	Please eat.
する	して	してください。	Please do it.
来る	来て	来てください。	Please come.

The て-form changes according to the verb, so do not attach ください to the dictionary form or the polite ます form. For example, “Please write” is 書いてください, not 書くください or 書きますください.

Other words keep their normal particles inside the request:

• 名前を書いてください。 — Please write your name. (を marks what is written.)
• ここに書いてください。 — Please write here. (に marks the destination or location for the writing.)
• 先生に聞いてください。 — Please ask the teacher. (に marks the person asked.)
• 日本語で言ってください。 — Please say it in Japanese. (で marks the language or means used.)

Asking someone not to do something

The useful negative pattern is:

Pattern	Meaning
verb in ない-form + でください	Please do not…
入らないでください。	Please do not enter.
忘れないでください。	Please do not forget.

The ない-form is the plain negative form, such as 入らない (“do not enter”) or 食べない (“do not eat”). The で in this pattern is required: 触らないでください means “Please do not touch.” This negative request is useful early on, but forming the ない-form may be taught as a separate step from the basic affirmative pattern.

Adding useful details

A request becomes much more practical when you add a place, time, repetition, or manner:

Addition	Example	Meaning
ここに (here)	ここに名前を書いてください。	Please write your name here.
ちょっと (a moment / a little)	ちょっと待ってください。	Please wait a moment.
もう一度 (one more time)	もう一度言ってください。	Please say it again.
ゆっくり (slowly)	ゆっくり話してください。	Please speak slowly.
〜まで (until/by)	五時までに来てください。	Please come by five.

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
水をください。	Water, please.	Requests a thing
このサンドイッチをください。	This sandwich, please.	この modifies a noun
切符を二枚ください。	Two tickets, please.	枚 counts flat items such as tickets
これをください。	This one, please.	Useful while pointing in a shop
ちょっと待ってください。	Please wait a moment.	Common everyday request
もう一度言ってください。	Please say it again.	Useful when learning Japanese
もう少しゆっくり話してください。	Please speak a little more slowly.	Adds manner with ゆっくり
ここに名前を書いてください。	Please write your name here.	に marks where to write
このページを読んでください。	Please read this page.	Classroom-style instruction
明日、九時に来てください。	Please come at nine tomorrow.	Time precedes the requested action
写真を見てください。	Please look at the photo.	見る becomes 見て
靴を脱いでください。	Please take off your shoes.	脱ぐ becomes 脱いで
ここで写真を撮らないでください。	Please do not take photos here.	Negative request
パスポートを忘れないでください。	Please do not forget your passport.	ない-form + でください

Notice that the English translations use different natural phrasing: “Water, please,” “Please wait,” and “Please do not enter.” Japanese keeps a clearer structural distinction between requesting a thing with をください and requesting an action with てください.

Common Mistakes

Attaching ください to the dictionary form

• Wrong: 待つください。
• Right: 待ってください。
• Why: An action request requires the verb’s て-form. 待つ changes to 待って before ください.

Using the ます form before ください

• Wrong: 書きますください。
• Right: 書いてください。
• Why: ます and ください are not stacked together. Change 書く to its て-form 書いて.

Using てください to request an object

• Wrong: 水てください。
• Right: 水をください。
• Why: 水 is a noun, not a verb. Use noun + をください for a thing and て-form + ください for an action.

Forgetting で in a negative request

• Wrong: 入らないください。
• Right: 入らないでください。
• Why: “Please do not…” follows the fixed pattern ない-form + でください.

Confusing これ and この

• Wrong: このをください。
• Right: これをください。 / この本をください。
• Why: これ stands alone as “this one.” この must come before a noun, as in この本 (“this book”).

Treating ください as a universally gentle “please”

• Awkward for a large favor: 明日、車で空港まで送ってください。
• Softer: 明日、車で空港まで送ってもらえますか。
• Why: The first sentence is grammatically correct, but “Please drive me to the airport tomorrow” can sound like an instruction. A question meaning roughly “Could I have you…?” is often better for a favor.

Usage Notes

Polite does not mean equally suitable everywhere

ください uses polite language and is appropriate in many ordinary transactions and instructions. A customer can say これをください in a shop. Teachers, staff, signs, and announcements often use てください because they are telling someone what action is needed.

Between equals, てください may sound formal or somewhat directive, depending on tone and context. This is not automatically rude. ちょっと待ってください is completely ordinary, especially when speaking to someone you do not know well. The larger the favor, however, the more likely a question-shaped request will sound considerate.

Do not overuse あなた

English requests usually contain an explicit or understood “you.” Japanese normally omits it: ここに書いてください is enough. あなたはここに書いてください can unnecessarily single out or contrast the listener. Use a name or title if identifying the person is genuinely necessary.

Particles may disappear in casual service speech

You will hear forms such as コーヒーください and これください. Omitting を is common in conversation, especially when ordering or pointing. Keep を while learning the full structure; later, recognize the shorter form as conversational rather than as a different grammar rule.

Tone carries part of the politeness

A calm voice, appropriate facial expression, and a brief opener such as すみません (“Excuse me”) can soften a request:

すみません、水をください。 — Excuse me, water, please.

In real interaction, this can matter as much as translating the English word please.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following forms at A1, but you will hear them often and they help place ください on a wider politeness scale.

〜てくださいませんか: turning it into a polite question

〜てくださいませんか literally frames the request as “Would you not please…?” and sounds more deferential than a plain 〜てください:

• もう一度説明してくださいませんか。 — Could you explain that once more?
• 少し待ってくださいませんか。 — Could you wait a little?

The negative-looking question does not request refusal. It makes the approach less direct, much as English “Could you…?” does.

〜てもらえますか and 〜ていただけますか

These patterns present the action as something the speaker can receive from the other person:

Form	Approximate meaning	Typical effect
〜てください	Please do…	Polite, clear, relatively direct
〜てもらえますか	Could you do…?	Conversational and softer
〜ていただけますか	Could you please do…?	More deferential/formal

For example, 写真を撮ってください directly asks someone to take a photo. 写真を撮ってもらえますか asks whether they could do it, while 写真を撮っていただけますか is more respectful. Exact politeness depends on situation, relationship, and delivery; these are not mechanical one-to-one translations.

くださいませ in service language

In shops, hotels, and announcements, you may hear くださいませ, as in 少々お待ちくださいませ (“Please wait a moment”). The added ませ creates a polished service style. Learners mainly need to recognize it; using ordinary ください is sufficient in most everyday requests.

くださる is a verb

Historically and grammatically, ください is connected to くださる, an honorific verb (a respectful verb describing an action by someone whose status is elevated) meaning “to give” to the speaker or the speaker’s side. This explains why it does more than behave like a free-floating equivalent of English please.

In other sentence patterns, くださる conjugates as a verb: 先生が本をくださいました means “The teacher kindly gave me a book.” That is related to request ください, but it is a later honorific grammar topic, not part of the core A1 rule.

Casual requests

With close friends or family, speakers may use the て-form alone—待って (“Wait”) or 見て (“Look”)—or 〜てくれる？ (“Could you…?”). These can sound warm and natural in the right relationship, but they are not general replacements for 〜てください with strangers or in formal settings.

Practice Tips

1. Learn requests as complete pairs. For each new verb, say the dictionary form and request together: 待つ → 待ってください, 読む → 読んでください, 来る → 来てください. This trains the て-form rather than encouraging you to attach ください to the wrong form.
2. Rehearse two real-life scenes. Point at imaginary items and say これをください, then practice repair phrases for conversation: もう一度言ってください and ゆっくり話してください.
3. Sort what you hear into “thing” and “action.” When you encounter ください, identify whether it follows a noun with を, a て-form, or a negative ないで form. This quickly makes the three structures recognizable.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Basic Particles は/が/を/に — helps you mark the requested object, destination, and other sentence roles correctly.