Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
リクエスト is used in casual or modern contexts. For more formal situations, you might use different structures: お願いできますか (o-negai dekimasu ka) means "May I request" and is particularly formal and polite. To make polite requests, you can add ください (kudasai) after a verb or noun or use お願いします (onegaishimasu), which can be translated as "please" or "I beg of you." At the end of a conversation or an email, よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu) is a common way to make a polite request or say "nice to meet you." In informal settings, you can use ちょっと (chotto) to mean "could you," or くれ (kure) to make casual requests among friends. You can also use ～てもらう (～te morau) to mean "receive a favor of doing ~" or ～てほしい (～te hoshii) to emphasize your desire for someone to do something.
How do you pronounce it?
rikuesuto
Did you know?
- The word お願い (onegai) used in requests comes from the word 願い (negai) meaning 'wish' or 'prayer', implying that a request is a form of wishing upon another.
- The construction ～てもらう (te morau) treats a request as a transaction where the speaker 'receives' the action as a gift from the other person.
- Using ください (kudasai) is a polite request, but in high-end service industries, staff avoid it and use more indirect forms to ensure the customer never feels they are being told what to do.
Examples in context
- リクエストにお応えして、幾つか文を追加してみました。I've tried adding a few sentences in response to your request.This sentence is useful for showing how to use リクエスト in the context of responding to a request.Tatoeba #10792907 by small_snow, translation #10794241 by end
- 明日の会議に出席してください、お願いします。Please attend the meeting tomorrow.
- 新しいプロジェクトを始める前に、資料をお送りいただけますか。May I request the documents before starting the new project?
- お時間があるときに、話を聞いていただけますか。よろしくお願いします。Would you be available to listen to me when you have time? Thank you in advance.
- ちょっと手伝ってくれる？Can you help me for a moment?
- 明日、駅まで迎えに来てくれる？Can you pick me up at the station tomorrow?
- お願い、手伝ってほしいんだけど。Could you please help me out?
- 特別なリクエストはありますか？Tokubetsu na rikusueto wa arimasu ka?Do you have any special requests?
Example conversation
Yota and Yui are at a cafe with a live pianist.
- 陽太 Yota結衣、何かリクエストしようか。Yui, nanika rikuesuto shiyō ka.Yui, shall we request something?
- 結衣 Yuiいいですね。静かな曲がいいです。Ii desu ne. Shizuka na kyoku ga ii desu.That sounds good. I'd like a quiet song.
- 陽太 Yotaじゃあ、僕がリクエストしてくるね。Jā, boku ga rikuesuto shite kuru ne.Okay, I'll go make the request.
- 結衣 Yuiお願いします、陽太さん。Onegaishimasu, Yota-san.Please do, Yota.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
