1.
please; kindly; by all means
A very polite and formal way to say 'please,' used in business correspondence, formal speeches, and polite requests.
何卒よろしくお願いいたします。
I humbly ask for your kind consideration.
何卒ご了承ください。
Please kindly understand.
ご不便をおかけしますが、何卒ご理解のほどお願い申し上げます。
We apologize for the inconvenience and kindly ask for your understanding.
An archaic compound of 何 (what) and とぞ (an emphatic classical particle combination). Despite its old origins, it remains very common in modern formal Japanese, especially in business.
USAGE:
Used almost exclusively in formal written and spoken contexts — business emails, official announcements, and polite customer-facing communication. It elevates the formality of a request beyond どうぞ or どうか. Rarely used in casual conversation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 何卒よろしくお願いいたします — standard closing for formal requests
- 何卒ご了承ください — please kindly understand/accept
- 何卒ご容赦ください — please kindly forgive/excuse
- 何卒ご確認ください — please kindly confirm
SIMILAR WORDS:
- どうぞ — please; general polite usage, much less formal
- どうか — please; earnest personal requests, less formal than 何卒
- くれぐれも — sincerely, earnestly; emphasizes the speaker's strong wish