Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 7: 17/21

お~(ねが)

Please, Could you please

Structure

+ Verb[ます+ (ねが)
+ (Chinese Origin) Noun + (ねが)
(Western Origin) Noun + (ねが)

Details

  • Register

    Polite

About お~願う

お~(ねが) is a humble speech expression in Japanese used for making requests in the same way as お~ください 'please do (A)'. As with many other polite structures, the use of お will primarily appear with words of Japanese origin, while ご will be used for the majority Chinese-origin kanji compounds.

(ねが)う itself is a う-Verb meaning 'to petition', and the literal translation is something like 'I petition that you do (A) for me', which sounds incredibly stiff in English, but gets the point across that someone is doing a favor for you.

Naturally, due to being a polite sentence pattern, お~(ねが) will almost always appear in it's ます-form, お~(ねが)います.

Interestingly, words of western origin, such as katakana loanwords, will often omit both and , appearing simply with (ねが) attached to the end.

Caution

As お~(ねが) is an even more polite way of saying お~ください, or simply even just てください, it will rarely be used outside of formal circumstances, such as voice-overs giving instructions etc. If used in daily speech, it may come across as sarcasm.


Examples

--:--

    書類(しょるい)のこの(した)にサイン (ねが)います

    Please sign at the bottom of the document.

    問題(もんだい)()こった場合(ばあい)連絡(れんらく)(ねが)います

    If you have any problems, please feel free to contact us.

    ここは図書館(としょかん)です。(しず)かに(ねが)います

    This is a library. Please be quiet.

    一週間(いっしゅうかん)以内(いない)返事(へんじ)(ねが)います

    Please reply within one week's time.

    この文章(ぶんしょう)間違(まちが)いないか、確認(かくにん)(ねが)います

    Please check if there are any mistakes in this sentence.

  • Get more example sentences!

    Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

  • Online


    • Offline

        • みんなの日本語 II

          Page 156 [CH 50]

        • Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide

          Page 230

      • Track Resources!

        Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.

      お~願う – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (1 in total)

      • casual

        casual

        Is this a humble speech expression, or not a humble but simply polite?
        Article text says 謙譲語, but Details->Register does not, and the sentences include a Polite hint instead of Kenjougo hint.
        It would be helpful for learners to take one position and apply it universally.

      Got questions about お~願う? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!

      Join the Discussion