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When asking for something I seem to hear sentences end in both ください (kudasai) and お願いしま (onegaishimasu). Is there a difference and how do I know when to use which?

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Nit: onegaishimasu is お願いします (note the last す). – Tsuyoshi Ito Jun 1 '11 at 13:15
@Tsuyoshi Ito: Corrected. :) (Since I don't have enough reputation, it must be reviewed before it is accepted, but because the correction is valid, I think it will be accepted.) – Alenanno Jun 1 '11 at 13:16
Sorry for my cut & paste error. I can use the IME but I don't trust its kanji conversions since my kanji knowledge is so limited so I've been cutting and pasting from Google searches instead. – hippietrail Jun 1 '11 at 13:21
@Alenanno: Thanks. I did not know that it was possible to “suggest” an edit with just two letters. I thought from my experience that when the amount of change is small, a suggested edit is automatically rejected. – Tsuyoshi Ito Jun 1 '11 at 13:25
@Tsuyoshi Ito: Oh, no, you can. :P But the difference is in your reputation. If it's high enough, you can edit things without anyone "accepting" your edit. Of course, the edits can be "rolled back" by the original author or you can also edit an answer/question someone else previously edited. – Alenanno Jun 1 '11 at 13:27
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2 Answers

up vote 13 down vote accepted

Here there's a nice explanation, but I'll quote it here for easy reference, with some additional info:

ください and お願いします are both used when making a request.

  • ください (kudasai) is used:
  1. After the particle "o" を, for example when ordering food:　"水をください" (Mizu o kudasai - Please, water.);
  2. When asking something that involves an action, along with the verb in the -te form, like: "ちょっと待ってください" (Chotto matte kudasai - Please, wait.). Note: do not use onegaishimasu here.
  • お願いします (onegaishimasu) is used:
  1. Also when ordering food, but in this case "を" is not necessary. Just say: "水お願いします" (Mizu onegaishimasu); Note: Onegaishimasu is more polite/formal than kudasai.
  2. When calling for someone's attention; for example, a waiter/waitress to your table.
  3. Use onegaishimasu when requesting a service that you cannot fulfill yourself: "東京駅までお願いします。" (Tokyo eki made onegaishimasu. - Tokyo Station, please [to the taxi driver]) Note: do not use kudasai here.
  4. Use onegaishimasu when asking for someone over the phone: 和子さんお願いします (Kazuko-san onegaishimasu. - May I speak to Kazuko?) Note: do not use kudasai here.
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"[お願いします] when calling for someone's attention…" Hmm, お願いします doesn't seem to work here (although すみません would). I believe お願いします only works after you've made your specific request understood, as in examples 1, 3, and 4. At the point of getting someone's attention, you haven't made your request, so お願いします feels out of place to me. Otherwise, +1 for a good answer. – Derek Schaab Jun 17 '11 at 14:43
btw is the を necessary before くだあさい? because i'd thought omitting it is fine like: 水ください / 水ちょうだい – Pacerier Jun 25 '11 at 11:00
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@DerekSchaab Again I chime in with only anime for evidence, but I just watched a scene recently (ひぐらしのなく頃に解、第３話) where the first thing a character said upon arriving at a local butcher's was a loud "お願いします！" to attract their attention, upon hearing which the butcher greeted the customers. – Hyperworm Feb 24 '12 at 14:40
@Pacerier if you aren't around people who you need to be super-formal for, omitting を shouldn't be a problem. – summea Feb 25 '12 at 7:04
@summea Ic, thanks for the reply =D – Pacerier Feb 25 '12 at 21:05
up vote 7 down vote

The main difference is that onegaishimasu assume some action/favor by the other person. It's also a meaning of "I trust this to you".

ください Kudasai (and the more familiar chodai ちょうだい) it's used when you did a request you are entitled to do. You want something or you want someone of same/lower status to do something for you (verb-te+kudasai).

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おねがいします　comes in really handy when you need anything done by (nearly) anyone. :) – summea Feb 25 '12 at 7:06
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Also, ちょうだい is more often used by women... ;) – summea Feb 25 '12 at 7:07

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