やめてください
The Japanese phrase for "please stop it" is やめてください.
The phrase やめてください is used to request that someone cease an annoying, harmful or inappropriate action. You can also use Owari ni shite kudasai to politely request that someone bring an ongoing action to an end.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
やめてください is a common and straightforward way to express "please stop it" in a formal manner, and adding kudasai makes the request polite and suitable for strangers or formal situations. For informal settings, you can use the basic and direct Yamete to say "stop it" or use Yamero yo to firmly ask someone to stop. Dropping the kudasai makes the phrase informal and is used with friends or people of lower status. Alternatively, using kure instead of kudasai in the form やめてくれ creates a more forceful, blunt or masculine tone.
Did you know?
- The word やめる is also used to describe quitting a job or dropping out of school, not just stopping a physical action.
- When someone is being teased, a playful or whining intonation of やめて can actually indicate that the person is enjoying the attention.
- In high-stress or emergency situations, Japanese speakers often omit the polite ください entirely, regardless of the other person's status, to prioritize speed.
Examples in context
- やめてください。Please stop it.This example shows how to use やめてください.Tatoeba #10901607 by small_snow, translation #2249814 by CK
- 冗談がすぎるので、やめてください。joudan ga sugiru node, yamete kudasai.Your jokes are going too far, so please stop it.
- そんな嫌なことは、やめてください。sonna iya na koto wa, yamete kudasai.Please stop doing such unpleasant things.
Example conversation
Youta is teasing Yui about her height in a cafe.
- 陽太 Yota結衣さんは本当に背が低いね。Yui-san wa hontou ni se ga hikui ne.Yui, you are really short.
- 結衣 Yuiもう、やめてください。Mou, yamete kudasai.Geez, please stop it.
- 陽太 Yotaごめん、悪口を言うつもりはなかったよ。Gomen, waruguchi o iu tsumori wa nakatta yo.Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you.
- 結衣 Yuiじゃあ、もうその話はしないで。Jaa, mou sono hanashi wa shinai de.Then, don't talk about that anymore.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
