"これをください。"
Translation:This one, please.
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I think they're trying to train us to have good manners without thinking about it.
So, technically you can ask, if you don't mind being rude.
But also, there are actually a number of other (albeit more advanced) ways to ask for things that are not only not rude, but also significantly more polite than ください.
Actually, I'm pretty sure ください is actually a commanding way of asking someone...
EDIT: I realise how wrong I actually was here lol. I'll definitely keep this comment I made here though so that I can potentially help clear up confusion for other learners that might've wondered the same thing. After all, we've all gotta make mistakes; it's now or never. Good luck to you too, reader! :D
Kudasai (下さい) is the sonkeigo form of kureru (くれる）which is basically a verb for "do this for me". It's used to specifically address the fact that someone did something for you (or someone close to you) 日本語を教えてくれた ('they did me the favor of teaching me japanese' is an accurate, albiet kind of weird sounding translation). Sonkeigo is the linguistic register you use when you are addressing someone of higher status or (in this case) ordering someone of your own status around :). 下さる conjugated in the imperative form becomes 下さい。
Not trying to rub your mistake in particularly, just trying to make sure anyone else who sees this can know why..
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A question will normally end with a か. As for the phraae, "Sore o kudasai" is literally "this please" which is proper and how I was taught during Japanese in school. It is polite and what I used when shopping in Japan :)
(Correct just adding) it is not a question so the suggested answer by duolingo is wrong
Right, though I think think it's worth noting that it you're trying to translate the sentiment and use typical language there is nothing wrong with it. It's certainly pretty far from a literal translation, but I feel like translating literally might give the impression that this statement is a bit rude.
You will always have an indicator of the subject "wo,wa" when the sentence gets more complicated that will help you to find the subject inasentence
Simple way to remember direct actions
Object を verb
水 を のむ drink water すし を 食べる eat sushi おかね を はらう pay money かばん を かう buy a bag
Note the verbs are in plain / dictionary form so u have to change / conjugate them accordingly in order to use them in real life
This is completely incorrect. The particles を and は, pronounced o and wa respectively, function differently in a sentence.
Here, and in every case I can think of, を acts as a marker of the direct object. That is the say, the noun or phrase before を is what the verb is acting on.
On the other hand, は is technically the topic marker, i.e. what the rest of the sentence refers back to, but in a lot of cases, the topic and the subject (what is doing the verb) are the same thing so は fills that role too.
Furthmore, these particles are not always going to be present in more complicated sentences, especially in spoken language. In particular, は gets omitted a lot because the topic is often assumed based on the context.
If I replaced を with は, how would that change the meaning of the sentence?
[wa kudasai] doesn't make sense. You use wa when describing something usually, like [neko wa akai desu] means "the cat is red". You use wo, pronounced o, when using verbs, like [omae o shinjiru] "believe in yourself". If you say [neko wa kudasai] you have a grammatical nonsense phrase "the cat is please give me".
Kore = close to speaker (this) Sore = close to listener (that) Are = far from both of you (that over there)
Also, ください is a word for requests which adds a certain level of politeness, a level well above "Give me that"
I would tentatively say yes, it should be accepted, but while the difference in politeness between "Give me that" and "Can I have this one?" is clear, once you start to move up in politeness, the differences get a little harder to define. I mean, consider the following sentences (in no particular order):
- Can I have this one?
- Can I have this one please?
- Could I have this one?
- Could I have this one please?
- May I have this one?
- May I have this one please?
- Would I be able to have this one?
- Would it be alright if I have this one?
Are you able to definitively rank each of those sentences in terms of politeness? Even if you could, if I gave you a list of more polite versions of これをください in Japanese, do you think it would be possible to map them to each other, in such a way that you could identify a logical pattern? Unfortunately, when it comes to translating between higher levels of politeness, there isn't a pattern, and it comes down to your own understanding of both English and Japanese culture to figure out what would be the most appropriate.
Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it is really too difficult a concept to define.
Why does it say my answer: "これを下さい。" is incorrect? Error? I used 下 for くだ in ください before and it marked my answer as correct.
Any help/suggestions appreciated! I already know a lot of this material conversationally (I've studied Japanese for 2 years in college), I'm mostly reviewing for reading/writing and kanji when I need a break from learning newer material.
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It should be OK. Report it. It is good Japanese. I cite examples from a known Japanese author.
「われわれに神様が言葉というものを下さいましたからして、われわれ人間に文学というものを下さいましたから、われわれは文学をもってわれわれの考えを後世に遺して逝くことができます。」内村鑑三 『後世への最大遺物』
It sounds like kore o, but I think technically it's a heavily unvoiced wo (as in, the "w" sound is very "breathy" and no tongue is involved in making it).
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は indicates the topic of the sentence
を indicates that the following noun is a direct object of a verb
sorry guys I am having a problem, because each time I write "can I get this one it corrects me to write that, so when I put "that" it corrects me to write "this". I am going crazy!
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So what's the difference between kudasai (ください) and onegaishimasu (おねがいします)? They both mean please, right?
Literally speaking, 下(くだ)さる means "To lend/give", and it's the polite form of くれる(Give/Gimme). 下さい means Please Give me/him/us/them. It's the polite of of くれ。 願い means request/desire. お願いします means Do me a favour or Grant my wish, please, if you try to translate it literally. And it's generally translated as a simple "Please". Every other please in Japanese is usually just Please in English cuz English lacks words for such things.
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ね is primarily to emphasize, not for question. You can imply a question with intonation, or context, but grammatically it has a different function.
それ and これ aren't interchangable, right? Am I not noticing they're the same or am I getting "it" instead of "that" as an answer correction for both?
Kore = this (close to speaker). Sore = that (close to listener). Are = that (far away). As for the translation, it, that, and this can be interchangable depending on the situation of the english phrasing, so duolingo is probably being too flexible.
There are a few ways you can ask that depending on the situation you're in. The level of politeness can change, even the verb can change depending on the type of "getting" you ask for.
(^That's mostly to cover my butt in case I get my suggestion wrong f(^_^;) I've been debating with myself most of the day about whether to use くれる or もらう, and which form of them, so I have to say I'm not 100% on top of the nuance here. But my suggestion is 「それを取ってくれませんか」 where 取って (とって) is the て-form of 取る, meaning "to pick up".
これそください is incorrect. そ may look similar to を, but they are completely different letters and を has a specific grammatical role to play in this sentence.
Why is it using を instead of は? I still don't get when do you use each of them.
I've answered this question before on this page:
Here, and in every case I can think of, を acts as a marker of the direct object. That is the say, the noun or phrase before を is what the verb is acting on.
On the other hand, は is technically the topic marker, i.e. what the rest of the sentence refers back to, but in a lot of cases, the topic and the subject (what is doing the verb) are the same thing so は fills that role too.
Actually, rather than coming from 下 (した), the noun, 下さい is a conjugation of the verb 下さる (くださる).
これ - This を - action indicator ください - Please(informal) Kore wo kudasai.
You can just say "desired item"をください, or この"desired item"をください to specify that you want this "desired item" rather than that "desired item".
O signifies the presence of an action taking place for example- 肉お食べます。 The action of eating is taking place . When the action does not take place then we use は For example- 肉は食べませ。
It seems like these questions chage if it translates as 'this one' or 'that one' in every other instance! Deictic expressions rely on a shared physical space - so how am i supposed to know which is meant?
それmeans that (near to the listener)
これmeans this (near to the speaker)
あれmeans that (far from both the speaker and the listener)
So....
これをください means this one please
Now your turn translate
それをください
あれをください。
Because they don't know what they're talking about くださる is the formal version of くれる so whoever tells you that Kudasai is informal, are straight-up misinforming you.
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Not really. Your observation is only on grammar, but in Japanese culture direct statement is rude regardless its grammatical politeness level. これをください is OK in shopping, but if you said so to your friend or neighbor, you will get a stigma of rudeness. And it is no question - これをください is an order, an demand: its original form is これをくだされ. It is a imperative form of verb. Demanding per se is rude, so avoiding rudeness you should pick other types of discourse strategy, like request, question and so on.
I definitely need to study particles better - I'm thinking about finding a course to refresh my English grammar, while it's my native language, its been a long time since I "studied" the technical workings of the language.
why is it that when I put 下 in my answer it's marked as incorrect, but when i just write it in kana (くだ) it's marked as correct? or is it just me? idk