N5 Topics
L9: Please, May I?
Ask and give permission, and learn more ways to say please
Please, May I?
In this Topic, we're going to learn about how the て-form can be used to make phrases giving or asking for permission, and meaning 'please do' or 'please don't'. With these phrases, we'll be able to navigate social and customer service situations more smoothly.
Grammar in this Topic
Verb + てもいい
It's okay to, It's alright to, Can/may
Verb + てもいい is a construction in Japanese used to express that something is 'okay', or 'alright'. It can also be used as a question to ask if you 'can', or 'may' do something.
This phrase is also regularly used without the も, but is considered a bit more direct/casual. It is best to remove the も only when talking to people that you know well.
This expression is simply a construction that literally means て (verb) も (also) いい (is good).
Caution
As this grammar point uses the て form of verbs, it is important to remember that some verbs will use で instead of て.
てもいい
It is alright/fine/okay even if, Can/may, ~ is also okay
Noun, い-Adjective, or な-Adjective + てもいい is a construction in Japanese that is used to express that something is 'okay', or 'alright'. It is also frequently used as a question to ask if you 'can', or 'may' do something.
As can be seen, with い-Adjectives, we will need to use the conjugation form. This is created by removing the い and then replacing it with く.
This phrase is also regularly used without the も, but is considered a bit more direct/casual in those cases. It is best to remove the も only when talking to people that you know well.
てもいい is an expression that literally means て (noun, etc) も (also) いい (is good).
Similarly to the てもいい grammar point that is used with verbs, this variant may also be used as a question. To do this, you simply need to follow てもいい with ですか, or the more casual の.
てください
Please do (Polite request)
てください is a polite expression that is used for asking people to do something. It is most often translated as 'please do (A)'.
ください is actually classified as honorific language, a type of polite speech that is used to refer to the actions of other people. くださる itself is the base form of this verb. While ください is exclusively used for making requests. くださる is the honorific language equivalent of くれる.
In friendly conversation, ください can be omitted from this expression, and the て form itself can be used as a very casual way of saying 'please do (A)'.
ないでください
Please don't (Polite request)
ないでください is an expression that is used to politely ask someone 'not' to do something. It is a combination of the casual negative form of a verb, the で particle, and ください (the conjunctive form of くださる).
ください is classified as honorific language, a type of polite speech that is used to refer to the actions of other people. The ください form of くださる is used almost exclusively for making requests. くださる is the honorific language equivalent of くれる.
In friendly conversation, ください may be omitted from this expression, and the で form itself can be used as a very casual way of saying 'please don't do (A)'.
Caution
Although ください is the polite form of くれる, ください is considered the base form of this phrase, and ないでくれ (the conjunctive form of くれる) would be considered far too casual in most situations.
Details
Let's more fully compare the phrases we've learned in this Topic, and look at some extra details.
Please, Please, Please
We now know quite a few ways to say 'please' in Japanese. Let's review them below.
First, we have ways to ask someone to do a specific action, both regularly and more casually.
Second, we have ways of saying 'please' in general, without being attached to a verb. You may recall that ください can sound more demanding (like a polite command), while お願いします feels more like a soft request for a favour.
Note that sometimes お願いします is shortened to simply お願い when making a more casual request, or when making a prayer or supplication. Crucially, note that お願いします is not normally used after the て form, the way that ください is.
Finally, in some cases the verb 頼む is ‘please’. It is not dissimilar in literal meaning to お願いします, but 頼む tends to be used in much more casual situations.
Alright, Alright, Alright
With the てもいい construction, there are actually a couple of other adjectives which are also commonly used in place of いい.
大丈夫 (meaning 'alright' or 'okay') is used in more casual contexts to ask if something will cause a problem. よろしい (a more formal word for 'good' or 'okay') is used in respectful, polite language.
Doing the Rounds
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警官：「おはようございます、田中さん。今日も元気ですか？」
母：「ええ。元気ですよ。今日は娘が遊びに来ているから、賑やかだよ。」
警官：「それはいいですね！何日までいるんですか？」
母：「娘は明日までいるよ。夜は一緒に映画館に行くんだ。」
警官：「それは楽しみですね。娘さんと少し話してもよろしいですか？」
母：「ええ。あ、娘は今シャワーをしているんだ。あの子は風呂が長いんだよ。」
警官：「じゃあ、明日の朝にもう一度来てもいいですか？」
母：「うん。いいよ！いつもありがとう。」
警官：「いいえ。今日は風呂の窓を閉めるのを忘れないでくださいね！！」
母：「わかってるよ。じゃあ、明日の朝お願いします。」
警官：「はい！じゃあ、寒いから体に気をつけてくださいね。」
母：「ありがとう。お元気で。」