やめてください
yamete kudasai
In Japanese, "please don't" can be expressed as やめてください (yamete kudasai).
This phrase is a polite request for someone to stop doing something.
What does it mean word for word?
The word やめて is the te-form of the verb yameru, which means to stop or to cease.
Which one should you use?
While やめてください is used to ask someone to stop an action they are currently performing, しないでください is used to ask someone not to perform a specific action in the future.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
You can make the phrase informal by dropping kudasai and simply saying やめて, which functions as a command used with friends or children.
How does it change in a sentence?
This phrase is used to request that someone stop an action, rather than requesting that they "do not" perform a future action (which would use nai de kudasai).
How do you pronounce it?
yamete kudasai
Did you know?
- The verb やめる (yameru) is also the standard word used when someone quits their job or retires from a profession.
- While やめてください is polite, using it with a stranger in a heated confrontation might actually come across as strangely clinical or detached rather than assertive.
- If a speaker wants to be even more forceful than やめてください, they might use the word いい加減にしてください (ii kagen ni shite kudasai), which literally asks the person to 'do it to a reasonable extent'.
Examples in context
- 声を荒げるのはやめてください。Please don't raise your voice at me.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of やめてください in the context of asking someone not to raise their voice.Tatoeba #11563169 by small_snow, translation #11563150 by sundown
- そんな冗談はやめてください。Sonna jōdan wa yamete kudasai.Please don't make jokes like that.
- ここでタバコを吸うのはやめてください。Koko de tabako o suu no wa yamete kudasai.Please don't smoke here.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ren is teasing Yui too much in a cafe.
- 結衣 Yui蓮さん、そんなにからかうのはやめてください。Ren-san, sonna ni karakau no wa yamete kudasai.Ren, please don't tease me so much.
- 蓮 Renごめん、そんなに嫌だったかな？Gomen, sonna ni iyatta kana?Sorry, was it that unpleasant?
- 結衣 Yuiはい、少し恥ずかしいです。Hai, sukoshi hazukashii desu.Yes, it's a little embarrassing.
- 蓮 Renわかった、もうしないよ。Wakatta, mō shinai yo.I understand, I won't do it anymore.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
