Basic messages and asking for help | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. もう一度言ってください。

   Please say it again.

   もう一度

   once more

   言ってください

   please say

   More detail

   もう一度 means “once more” or “again.” 一度 is the noun-like expression “one time,” and もう here adds the sense of doing something again. This is a reusable time expression: もう一度 + verb asks for another occurrence. Example: もう一度読んでください。 — “Please read it again.” 言ってください means “please say.” The base verb is 言う (“to say”); its form here is 言って, the て-form. ください after a て-form makes a polite request: 言ってください = “please say.” The て-form is not the past tense here. Example: ゆっくり話してください。 — “Please speak slowly.” Japanese can omit an understood object, so this sentence does not contain a separate word corresponding to “it.” In the fixed translation, “it” identifies the thing to be said again; the surrounding situation supplies that object. The following example uses an explicit object: それを書いてください。 — “Please write it down.” Together, もう一度 (“again”) and 言ってください (“please say”) produce the complete polite request: “Please say it again.”

2. それを書いてください。

   Please write it down.

   それ

   it

   書いてください

   please write

   More detail

   それ means “it” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun: Japanese contrasts これ (“this,” near the speaker), それ (“that/it,” associated with the listener or something already mentioned), and あれ (“that over there”). The fixed sentence does not identify exactly what それ refers to, so its supported meaning here is simply the thing to be written down. 書いてください is a polite request meaning “please write.” The lexical verb is 書く (“to write”); its て-form is 書いて. The pattern て-form + ください makes a polite request: 見てください means “please look,” for example. The ください is attached to the preceding て-form, so it is the request pattern rather than the main lexical verb. Together, それを書いてください。 means “Please write it down.” それ marks what should be written, and 書いてください politely asks the listener to perform the writing. The wording is a polite, reusable request pattern.

3. 私に見せてください。

   Please show me.

   私に

   to me

   見せてください

   please show

   More detail

   私に means “to me” here. 私 is the first-person pronoun “I/me”; its English translation changes with its grammatical role, but the Japanese form itself is not marked for subject versus object. に marks the recipient or target of an action, so 私に identifies the person who should be shown something. Example: 先生に聞きます。 — “I ask the teacher.” Here に marks the person addressed. 見せてください is a polite request meaning “please show.” 見せる is the verb “to show”; 見せて is its connecting て-form, and ください adds the request “please.” This is a reusable pattern: verb-てください means “please [verb].” Example: 読んでください。 — “Please read.” The quoted form does not itself specify what is being shown; that information can be supplied by context or another phrase. Together, 私に marks the recipient and 見せてください makes the polite request: “Please show [it/something] to me.” The Japanese sentence leaves the thing shown unspoken, while the fixed English translation gives the intended meaning as “Please show me.”

4. 私を手伝ってください。

   Please help me.

   私を

   me

   手伝ってください

   please help

   More detail

   私を means “me” as the person receiving the action. 私 is a first-person pronoun, commonly read わたし (watashi), and を marks the direct object of the verb. In this sentence, the speaker asks the listener to help the speaker. 手伝ってください is a polite request meaning “please help.” The base form is 手伝う (てつだう, tetsudau), “to help.” Its て-form, 手伝って, followed by ください, makes a polite request: 手伝ってください = “Please help.” This pattern can be reused with other verbs, such as 見てください = “Please look.” Together, 私を手伝ってください。 means “Please help me.” The object marker を connects “me” to the action of helping, while 〜てください presents that action as a polite request.

5. 何を手伝いましょうか。

   How can I help?

   何を

   what

   手伝いましょうか

   shall I help?

   More detail

   何を means “what” as the object of the action. 何 is the question word “what,” and を marks the thing being acted on. This pattern is reusable: 何を + verb asks what someone does, wants, or can do. Example: 何を食べますか。 means “What will you eat?” 手伝いましょうか is a polite offer: “shall I help?” or, naturally here, “can I help?” The lexical verb is 手伝う (“to help”); in this sentence it appears as 手伝いましょう, the polite volitional form. The volitional form can express the speaker’s proposal to do something. Final か makes the utterance a question. In this use, ましょうか offers the speaker’s help rather than asking about a fixed future plan. Example: 荷物を持ちましょうか。 means “Shall I carry your luggage?” Together, 何を identifies what assistance is needed, and 手伝いましょうか offers the speaker’s help. The complete utterance therefore means “How can I help?”

6. あとで私に電話してください。

   Please call me later.

   あとで

   later

   私に

   to me

   電話

   telephone call

   してください

   please do

   More detail

   あとで means “later,” referring to a time after now. It can set the time of an action without taking the time particle に. Example: あとで話しましょう。— “Let’s talk later.” 私に contains 私, “I/me,” and に, which marks the recipient or target of an action. Here, 私に means “to me,” the person who should receive the call. 私 does not change form for this role; に shows its grammatical relation. 電話 means “telephone call” here. With する, it forms 電話する, “to make a phone call” or “to call.” Example: 母に電話する。— “I call my mother.” The subject is omitted in this labeled example and is supplied by the English translation only for a natural translation. してください consists of して, the て-form of する, followed by ください. The pattern てください makes a polite request to do the preceding action. Thus, after 電話, 電話してください means “please call”; してください alone does not itself mean “call.” Together, あとで + 私に + 電話してください produces “Please call me later.” The subject is not stated explicitly, and the request is addressed to the listener. A reusable pattern is [time] [recipient] に [noun] してください when the noun forms a noun-plus-する action; a time expression that already works as an adverb, such as あとで, does not need に.