下(くだ)さい

下(くだ)さい is the standard polite way to make requests in Japanese. It comes from the honorific verb 下(くだ)さる (to give, from a superior).

Common patterns

• [noun] + を + 下(くだ)さい: please give me ~ (水(みず)を下(くだ)さい)
• [te-form] + 下(くだ)さい: please do ~ (待(ま)って下(くだ)さい)
• お + [verb stem] + 下(くだ)さい: more formal request (お座(すわ)り下(くだ)さい)

Writing

Official and newspaper style writes the request after a te-form in hiragana (待(ま)ってください) and keeps the kanji only for "please give me" (水(みず)を下(くだ)さい). In everyday writing ください in hiragana is common for both.

Register

• 〜て: casual (friends, family)
• 〜て下(くだ)さい: polite (standard)
• 〜てくださいませんか: very polite (requesting a favor)