Japanese Please and Thank You: Ordering Food Politely with お願いします and ありがとうございます
Learn how to order food politely in Japanese with お願いします and ください, and how to say a warm, polite thank you with ありがとうございます, including replies to thanks and register choices.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
Practice a polite restaurant order with お願いします (onegaishimasu) and a polite thank-you with ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu). The phrase recordings also show how to ask for a menu with ください (kudasai) and how to reply to thanks. In the dialogue, A orders ramen and B is the staff member: listen for B's request to wait, then the line that hands over the food. Keep those staff replies separate from the customer's request and thanks.
By the end, you can…
- order a specific item politely using お願いします or ください.
- thank someone politely with ありがとうございます and respond when someone thanks me.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
これをお願いします。
This one, please.
kore o onegai shimasu
Point at a menu item or a display case item. を marks the item as the object of the request.
お水をお願いします。
Water, please.
omizu o onegai shimasu
A polite request for a specific item. In many restaurants water is brought automatically, but asking is fine.
メニューをください。
Please give me the menu.
menyū o kudasai
ください follows a noun here and asks someone to hand you that thing. It is direct but polite in service settings.
ありがとうございます。
Thank you very much. / Thank you.
arigatō gozaimasu
The standard polite thanks for staff, strangers, and anyone you have just met. Safe in almost any service encounter.
どういたしまして。
You're welcome.
dō itashimashite
A common polite reply when someone thanks you. In casual settings, いいえ or いえいえ can also work.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
For ordering, the core pattern is item + を + お願いします: ラーメンをお願いします (rāmen o onegai shimasu) or これをお願いします (kore o onegai shimasu). お願いします is a polite request chunk that works with nouns and with actions. When you want to ask for an action, use the て-form of a verb + ください: 書いてください (kaite kudasai) means please write it. At a counter, ください can also follow a noun: お水をください (omizu o kudasai) is a direct, polite way to ask for water. Both are acceptable; お願いします often sounds slightly softer and more service-friendly.
When to use it
Use ありがとうございます with staff, teachers, and people you do not know well. With close friends or family, the shorter ありがとう (arigatō) is normal and warm. If someone thanks you, どういたしまして is a safe polite reply, while いえいえ (ie ie) is a softer, modest response in casual talk. Register matters: ありがとうございます is not stiff, but it is more formal than ありがとう. When ordering, avoid bare ください with no object, because it can sound abrupt; name the item or use お願いします.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
すみません、ラーメンをお願いします。
Excuse me, ramen, please.sumimasen, rāmen o onegai shimasuはい、ラーメンですね。少々お待ちください。
Yes, ramen, right. Please wait a moment.hai, rāmen desu ne. shōshō omachi kudasaiありがとうございます。
Thank you.arigatō gozaimasuお待たせしました。どうぞ。
Sorry to keep you waiting. Here you are.omatase shimashita. dōzoA little context goes a long way
In service situations, ありがとうございます is the default polite thanks, and staff may reply with ありがとうございます too, especially in shops. どういたしまして is correct but can sound slightly formal or textbook-like in casual chat; いえいえ or いいえ is common among friends. For ordering, お願いします is widely used at counters and restaurants, and adding すみません first gets attention politely without being pushy.
One thing to watch for
Using ありがとう alone with a teacher, a stranger, or staff because it is shorter and easier.
Try this instead: Use ありがとうございます in polite contexts: ありがとうございます. ありがとう is not wrong, but it is casual and can sound too familiar with someone you have just met. Save ありがとう for friends and family.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are at a ramen shop and want to order ramen politely. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
ラーメンをお願いします。
Item + を + お願いします is the standard polite ordering pattern. ラーメンをください is also acceptable and direct, but お願いします often sounds a little softer in service settings.
2A staff member hands you your food. What is the polite thank-you?
Show a sample answer
ありがとうございます。
ありがとうございます is the safe polite thanks for staff and strangers. ありがとう is fine with close friends, but it is more casual.
3Someone says ありがとうございます to you. Give one polite reply.
Show a sample answer
どういたしまして。
どういたしまして is a standard polite reply. In casual conversation, いえいえ or いいえ can also work and may sound more natural among friends.
4Listen to the restaurant dialogue. Who orders ramen, what does the staff member ask them to do next, and which recorded line signals that the food is ready? Then replay the exchange and say A's two lines yourself.
Show a sample answer
A orders with すみません、ラーメンをお願いします。 B says はい、ラーメンですね。少々お待ちください。, confirming ramen and asking A to wait a moment. A replies ありがとうございます。 Later B says お待たせしました。どうぞ。: 'Sorry to keep you waiting. Here you are.'
Keep A as the customer and B as the staff member. The first staff reply confirms the order and asks for a short wait; it does not hand over the food. The final staff line does. In this recording A thanks B after the order confirmation; the separate phrase ありがとうございます can also be used when receiving the food. Practice the recorded four-turn sequence before trying the customer's lines from memory.
Request an item with item + を + お願いします and thank politely with ありがとうございます. In the restaurant dialogue, A orders and thanks; B confirms the order, asks A to wait, and later hands over the food. Listen for those different jobs, then rehearse the customer's lines aloud.
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