良いことBlog

(日本を訪れる外国人の為の情報カテゴリをつくってみました^o^)
I'd like to introduce Japan and Japanese culture in my blog.
If you have a chance to visit Japan, I hope this helps.

The first subject is a Japanese magic word, 'Onegai-shimasu'.
With this simple word, you can survive in Japan by yourself from now on.

'Onegai-shimasu' is basically equivalent to 'Please' in English. However we have a variety of usage for it.

EXAMPLES:
- When you buy something at a store, you can simply show what you want to buy and say 'Onegai-shimasu'.
This sounds to Japanese like 'I'll take this, so could you calculate the amount?'

- When you get on a taxi and want to go to Tokyo station, you can say 'Tokyo station ma-de onegai-shimasu'.
BTW, 'ma-de' means 'to', so this sentence indicates 'Please take me to Tokyo station.'
Alike, you can use 'Tokyo station ma-de onegai-shimasu' when buying a train ticket from where you are to Tokyo station.
If you need a round trip ticket, 'Oh-fuku onegai-shimasu' is the sentence. In this case, 'oh-fuku' means 'round trip'.

- After you ask somebody to do a favor, you'd better say 'Yoroshiku onegai-shimasu'.
This means 'Best Regards,'
Also, we say this at the end of business meeting instead of 'Nice meeting you.'

- Whereever you are in Japan, you'll hear 'Onegai-shimasu' tons of times, so you'll learn more situations quickly if you remember this magic word.

( written by Manager#1 )