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お〜ください

おください · okudasai
Post
Honorifics Tier 0 · most common
Structure
お + Verb i-form + ください

Meanings

  1. please do X (humble / formal request)

Nuance

お〜ください is the formal honorific request — "please [honorable subject] do X." One register up from 〜てください, used in customer service, public announcements, formal instructions: お待ちください ("please wait"), お入りください ("please come in"), ご利用ください ("please make use of...").

The pattern: お (or ご for Sino-Japanese verbal nouns) + the verb's i-form + ください. お待ち (i-form of 待つ) + ください. For する-verbs with Sino-Japanese stems, the prefix is ご and the structure is ご + noun + ください: ご利用ください, ご注意ください.

The register is higher than 〜てください — the speaker is treating the listener as a person of higher status (a customer, a guest, an audience). Using this form to a friend would sound stiff or sarcastic; in commercial Japan it's the default for any customer-facing request.

Not all verbs take this form gracefully. The humble equivalent for some verbs uses the irregular humble form: 言う → おっしゃる (honorific) / 申し上げる (humble); see / look → ご覧 (ご覧ください, "please look"). These are memorized as fixed honorific vocabulary.

Examples

  1. 少々お待ちください。
    しょうしょうおまちください。
    Please wait a moment.
  2. こちらにご記入ください。
    こちらにごきにゅうください。
    Please fill in here.
  3. どうぞお入りください。
    どうぞおはいりください。
    Please come in.

Tags

#honorific #request #formal

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