ください vs お願いします: What’s the Difference?
Both ください (kudasai) and お願いします (onegaishimasu) are translated as “please.” In a restaurant you can use either one. But in some situations only one of them works. Here is the simple way to choose.
Contents
The short answer
| Situation | ください | お願いします |
|---|---|---|
| Asking for a thing (water, a menu, this one) | ⭕ 水をください。 | ⭕ 水をお願いします。 |
| Asking someone to do an action (with a verb) | ⭕ 待ってください。 | ❌ |
| Asking for a service (the bill, a reservation, a taxi ride) | ❌ | ⭕ お会計をお願いします。 |
| Asking for a person (on the phone, at a reception desk) | ❌ | ⭕ 田中さんをお願いします。 |
| Saying yes to an offer | ❌ | ⭕ はい、お願いします。 |
ください means “give me.” お願いします means “I’m asking you a favor.” If the thing can be handed to you, both work. If it cannot, use お願いします.
When both are OK: asking for a thing
When you order food or ask for an object, both are correct and polite.
The feeling is a little different. ください is direct: “Give me coffee, please.” お願いします is softer: “Coffee — I’d like to ask for that.” Both are fine for customers. If you are not sure, お願いします is always safe.
In real life, people often drop the particle を:
Only ください: with a verb
When you ask someone to do something, use the te-form + ください. You cannot put お願いします after a te-form verb.
❌ 待ってお願いします is wrong. If you want to use お願いします, change the verb to a noun: もう一度お願いします (One more time, please). This short phrase is very useful in class and on a trip.
You learned te-form + ください in Step 7 (GENKI Lesson 6).
Only お願いします: services, people and offers
1. Services and things you cannot “receive”
The bill, a reservation, a check-in, a taxi ride: nobody can hand these to you like a cup of coffee. Use お願いします.
2. Asking for a person
On the phone or at a front desk, say 田中さんをお願いします (May I speak to Mr. Tanaka?). ❌ 田中さんをください sounds like “Give me Mr. Tanaka” — as if you want to take him home!
3. Saying yes to an offer
When staff offer to do something for you, answer with お願いします.
You will hear this at every convenience store in Japan. The Travel Japanese Pack has more of these shop and restaurant phrases with audio.
Which one is more polite?
Both are polite. お願いします sounds a little softer, because you are asking, not telling. In business emails and with customers, people make it even more polite: お願いいたします.
And one more: よろしくお願いします is a set phrase. You say it when you meet someone, or after you ask someone to do a job. You cannot use ください here.
Quick check: 5 questions
Choose the best answer.
What’s next
- Step 7 (GENKI Lesson 6): the te-form and 〜てください
- Practical Japanese phrases for daily life
- Sentence-ending particles: ね, よ and more
