お会計をお願いします
okaikei o onegaishimasu
In Japanese, "can I have the check?" is said as お会計をお願いします (okaikei o onegaishimasu).
お会計をお願いします is the standard, polite way to signal to a server that you are ready to pay and leave.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase お会計をお願いします, the particle o marks お会計 as the direct object of the request.
How do you pronounce it?
okaikei o onegaishimasu
Did you know?
- In many Japanese restaurants, you do not ask for the bill at the table. Instead, you take a small slip of paper, often called a 伝票 (denpyo), which is left on your table, and carry it to the register near the exit to pay.
- The word 会計 originally referred to the act of counting and reporting accounts in a government or military context before it became the word for a restaurant bill.
- When you use this phrase, it is common practice to include a slight bow. In Japanese culture, the verbal request and the physical gesture of bowing are seen as a single, unified act of politeness.
Examples in context
- お会計をお願いします。Okaikei o onegaishimasu.Can I have the check, please?
- そろそろ、お会計をお願いします。Sorosoro, okaikei o onegaishimasu.I'd like the check now, please.
Example conversation
At a small cafe after a meal.
- 陽葵 Himariすみません、お会計をお願いします。Sumimasen, okaikei o onegaishimasu.Excuse me, can I have the check?
- 健太 Kentaはい、少々お待ちください。Hai, shōshō omachi kudasai.Yes, please wait a moment.
- 陽葵 Himari健太さん、お会計は一緒でいいですか？Kenta-san, okaikei wa issho de ii desu ka?Kenta, is it okay if we pay together?
- 健太 Kentaはい、大丈夫ですよ。Hai, daijōbu desu yo.Yes, that's fine.
