てくださいte kudasai“please do”

てください means please do (something). Put a verb in its て-form, add ください, and you have a polite request: 書いてください, “please write”; 待ってください, “please wait.” It is a JLPT N5 pattern and one of the first you will actually use in Japan, at the station, in class, and at every shop counter.

ください comes from くださる, "to give (to me)." 待ってください is literally "give me the favour of waiting."

What does てください mean?

てください asks the listener to do an action. The English “please” is a good starting translation, but the Japanese is closer to “do X for me.” It is polite in form, yet it is still a clear instruction. That is why teachers, doctors, and staff use it all day:

• ここに名前を書いてください — Please write your name here.
• 口を開けてください — Please open your mouth.
• 少し待ってください — Please wait a moment.

It also works as a friendly offer or invitation when the action benefits the listener: どうぞ、座ってください (“please, have a seat”), たくさん食べてください (“eat as much as you like”).

How to form てください

Change the verb to its て-form, then add ください.

The て-form is where most mistakes happen, so here are the rules for う-verbs (godan), grouped by dictionary ending:

• う・つ・る → って: 買う → 買って, 待つ → 待って, 帰る → 帰って
• む・ぶ・ぬ → んで: 読む → 読んで, 呼ぶ → 呼んで, 死ぬ → 死んで
• く → いて: 書く → 書いて (exception: 行く → 行って)
• ぐ → いで: 泳ぐ → 泳いで
• す → して: 話す → 話して

る-verbs (ichidan) just replace る with て: 食べる → 食べて, 見る → 見て. The two irregular verbs are する → して and 来る → 来(き)て.

In casual speech with friends and family, ください is often dropped: 待って!, ちょっと見て. The bare て-form is the casual request.

When is てください used?

• Instructions: classrooms, forms, exams, medical checkups: 名前を書いてください
• Service situations: a customer asking staff: 駅まで行ってください (to a taxi driver)
• Offers and invitations: どうぞ、入ってください
• Everyday requests to equals: ちょっと待ってください
• Signs and announcements: 足元に気をつけてください, “please watch your step”

てください is polite, but it is direct. It works when you have the right to ask (you are the customer, the teacher, the host) or when the request is small. When you ask a stranger or someone above you for a real favour, soften it to てくださいませんか (“would you please…?”) or ていただけませんか.

てください example sentences

Nuance of てください

The word “please” makes てください sound softer in English than it is in Japanese. In Japanese, it is a polite instruction: the speaker expects the listener to do it. That is perfect for a teacher saying 教科書を開いてください, and perfectly normal for a customer saying 袋に入れてください. It is less comfortable when you ask a stranger on the street for help, because you have no position to give instructions.

Japanese has a clear ladder of request politeness:

At N5, you need the first three. Use the bare て-form with friends, てください for everyday polite requests, and てくださいませんか when you are asking a favour.

The tone of your voice matters too. A clipped 待ってください! is a firm “wait!”, while a soft ちょっと待ってくださいね sounds friendly and apologetic.

💡 Offer, not order: when the action is good for the listener, てください becomes hospitality. どうぞ、食べてください is "please help yourself," not "eat this."

てください vs をください

Both end in ください, and beginners use one where the other belongs.

Ask yourself what comes before ください. A noun you want → をください. An action you want someone to do → てください. In a café, コーヒーをください orders a coffee; コーヒーを入れてください asks someone to make it.

Common mistakes with てください

Is てください on the JLPT?

Grammar questions often offer 書くください, 書きください, 書いてください, and 書いたください as choices. Only the て-form is correct.

Practice questions for てください

Learning path for てください

Related grammar to review next

• をください — asks for a thing instead of an action; the partner learners mix up most.
• ないでください — the negative request, “please don’t.”
• ませんか — the ending that softens てください into てくださいませんか.
• ていただけませんか — the more humble request for real favours.
• てはいけない — built on the same て-form, but forbids instead of asks.

Learn てください with Hane

Hane drills the て-form across every verb group, then puts it straight into requests you will use in Japan. Practice てください in Hane.