急いでください
isoide kudasai
The English phrase "hurry up, please" is translated into Japanese as 急いでください (isoide kudasai).
急いでください is used when you want someone to move or act faster, but you wish to maintain a level of politeness. You can increase the emphasis on the urgency of a polite request by adding どうか お急ぎください.
Which one should you use?
While 急いでください is a standard polite request, 急いでくださいませんか is a more indirect and softer way to request someone to hurry, suitable for customers or superiors. For a stronger sense of urgency and impatience in informal settings, you might use 急いでよ！ In casual conversations with friends, you can also use 早く してよ.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
急いでください is a polite way to request speed. For superiors or customers, the softer and more indirect 急いでくださいませんか is preferred. In informal settings, such as among friends, you should use 早く してよ or 急いでよ！ To emphasize urgency in a formal way, you can add どうか お急ぎください to your request.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Kansai region, the informal expression 早よ is used to say "Hurry up!"
How do you pronounce it?
isoide kudasai
Did you know?
- In Japanese culture, telling someone to hurry up can be seen as aggressive regardless of politeness, so people often use phrases about 'time being limited' to imply the need for speed without using the word 'hurry'.
- While 急いでください is polite, shouting 早く (hayaku) alone is common in sports or emergency situations, effectively turning a word for 'early' or 'fast' into a command.
- The word 急ぐ (isogu), found in 急いでください, shares a historical connection to the concept of 'suddenness' or 'emergency'. This is why it carries a much higher sense of urgency than the more neutral word for 'fast', 早い (hayai).
Examples in context
- 電車が来るので、急いでください。Densha ga kuru node, isoide kudasai.The train is coming, so please hurry up.
- 会議に遅れます。急いでください。Kaigi ni okuremasu. Isoide kudasai.We will be late for the meeting. Please hurry up.
Example conversation
陽葵 and 健太 are trying to catch a bus.
- 陽葵 Himariバスがもうすぐ来ますよ！Basu ga mou sugu kimasu yo!The bus is coming soon!
- 健太 Kentaすみません、今行きます。Sumimasen, ima ikimasu.Sorry, I'm coming now.
- 陽葵 Himari健太さん、急いでください。Kenta-san, isoide kudasai.Kenta, please hurry up.
- 健太 Kentaわかった、急ぐよ！Wakatta, isogu yo!Okay, I'll hurry!
