読んでください
yonde kudasai
The English phrase "please read" is expressed in Japanese as 読んでください (yonde kudasai).
読んでください is used to make a polite request for someone to read a piece of text.
Which one should you use?
読んでください is a polite request, but it still functions as a command-style request. For a much softer and more indirect suggestion, you might use 読んでいただけませんか.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
読んでください is the standard polite way to ask someone to read something and is suitable when speaking to teachers, bosses or strangers. In contrast, using only the te-form 読んで is a casual and straightforward way to say "please read" among friends or peers.
How do you pronounce it?
yonde kudasai
Did you know?
- The verb 読む is used in the phrase 空気を読む, which literally means 'reading the air'. It describes the vital social skill of sensing the mood or unspoken expectations in a room.
- While you may use 読んでください to ask someone to read a document, pointing directly at the text with a finger can be perceived as rude. It is more polite to gesture toward the reading material with an open hand.
- If you want someone to read something silently, you might add the phrase 心の中で (kokoro no naka de) to your request. This literally translates to 'inside the heart', specifying that the reading should be internal.
Examples in context
- 説明書を読んでください。Please read the instructions.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase 読んでください in the context of instructions.Tatoeba #7577127 by Shake, translation #2959223 by sharptoothed
- もう一回読んでください。Please read it again.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase 読んでください when asking to repeat an action.Tatoeba #7967881 by Ninja, translation #4321097 by monahxo
- この本を読んでください。Please read this book.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase 読んでください with a specific object like a book.Tatoeba #12749014 by small_snow, translation #2429873 by MarlonX19
- 6 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A teacher asks a student to read a sentence aloud in a classroom.
- 結衣 Yuiこの文章を読んでください。Kono bunshou o yonde kudasai.Please read this sentence.
- 蓮 Renはい、わかりました。Hai, wakarimashita.Yes, I understand.
- 結衣 Yui蓮さんは、とても上手ですね。Ren-san wa, totemo jouzu desu ne.Ren, you are very good at it.
- 蓮 Renありがとうございます。Arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you very much.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
