Please Learn Please
“A total immersion in life offers the best classroom for learning to love.” – Leo Buscaglia
If you’ve been poking around other places for learning Japanese (definitely encouraged!) there’s a decent chance you’ve come across this.
ください → Please
ください is added to the end of te-form verbs. This kind of makes sense. Remember how te-form all alone is like an order?
a やさい を たべて！
Eat (your) vegetables!
Well, saying “please” is kind of like a really, really nice order.
a やさい を たべてください。
Please eat your vegetables.
This works with any verb, and it’s quite simple as long as you know te-form already, which you do, right? You actually already know the kanji for this grammar point, too. It’s 下さい (pronounced ください, of course). It’s an exceptional reading of 下, and one you’ll have to learn straight up, but if you’ve been following along with the kanji, I bet you know it already.
Let’s look at a few more examples, and then you’re going to try.
a あそこ に 行って下さい。
Please go over there.
a これ を よんで下さい。
Please read this.
a いっしょ に 来て下さい
Please come together with me.
a しごと を やって下さい。
Please do your job.
See how easily 下さい just pops onto the ends of te-form verbs? Now it’s your turn.