What is the difference between Kudasai and Onegai?

Both kudasai [ください] and onegaishimasu [お願いします] get translated as "please" — and that is exactly where people get stuck. Order water in a shop and either can work. Ask a taxi to take you somewhere, or attach the word to a verb in the te form, and only one of them sounds right.

The split is less about a dictionary definition and more about how you are asking: a direct request for something you can name, a more formal favor or service, or an action you want someone to do.

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What does kudasai mean?

The word kudasai [下さい / ください] can mean please, give me, or do this for me. You use it to ask for a concrete thing (an object, a menu item) or to ask someone to perform an action when the verb is in the te form.

Grammatically, kudasai is the imperative (命令形) form of the honorific verb kudasaru [くださる], which means someone (of higher or equal status) gives something to you. The kanji [下] points “downward”: the benefit comes toward the speaker. It is not a free-floating “give/receive” pair the way ageru / morau are; it is the polite “please give (me)…” side of the request.

Japanese also builds requests with giving/receiving verbs — ageru, kureru, morau, sashiageru, kudasaru, itadaku — attached to a verb in the te [て] form. That construction means someone does something for someone else’s benefit. In everyday polite speech, …te kudasai is the pattern you hear most for “please do X.”

What does onegai mean?

Onegai [お願い] comes from the kanji [願], which covers wish, request, and prayer. As a noun it can mean a request or a wish, and with the polite verbal form it becomes another way to say please. The shimasu comes from the verb suru (“to do”), so onegaishimasu is roughly “I make a request” / “I humbly ask.”

It derives from the verb negau [願う], “to wish for” or “to pray for.” Dropping the honorific [お] gives the bare noun negai; the o- prefix makes the everyday polite form people actually use.

Onegai(shimasu) shows up a lot when the ask is about cooperation, a favor, or a service — something that depends on the other person’s willingness more than on handing over a physical object. The kanji idea of “wish/plea” softens the ask so it does not land as a blunt order. In Japanese etiquette, putting someone under obligation without that cushion can feel rude; the polite request form is part of how speakers manage that.

Compared with kudasai, onegaishimasu often sounds a step more formal or deferential — useful with strangers, staff, or situations where you are clearly asking a favor rather than naming something you expect to receive.

What is the difference between kudasai and onegai?

These pairs can take either form:

Kitte wo kudasai. 切手をください。 Please give me stamps.	Kitte (wo) onegaishimasu. 切手(を)お願いします。 Please give me stamps.
Mizu wo kudasai. 水をください。 Water, please.	Mizu (wo) onegaishimasu. 水(を)お願いします。 Water, please.

With objects, either works; onegaishimasu usually sounds a little more polite. The particle wo [を] is often optional with onegai. Still, some situations strongly prefer (or only allow) onegai shimasu.

(1) When asking for a service

Tokyo eki made onegaishimasu. 東京駅までお願いします。	To Tokyo Station, please. (to a taxi driver)
Yoyaku wo onegai dekimasu ka. 予約をお願いできますか。	Could I make a reservation, please?
Kokusai denwa onegaishimasu. 国際電話お願いします。	An international call, please. (on the phone)

Directions like “to the station” or a service you cannot do yourself are classic onegaishimasu territory. “Tokyo eki made kudasai” sounds off in the same way that “please give me to the station” would in English.

(2) When asking to speak with someone on the phone

Kazuko-san onegaishimasu. 和子さんお願いします。

May I speak with Kazuko, please?

For an action with a verb in the te form (wait, teach, come…), use kudasai. You do not stack the same pattern with onegaishimasu after the te-form.

Chotto matte kudasai. ちょっと待ってください。	Please wait a moment.
Nihongo wo oshiete kudasai. 日本語を教えてください。	Please teach me Japanese.
Ashita kite kudasai. 明日来てください。	Please come tomorrow.

You can use bare onegai with an action if it sits at the front of a more emotional or informal plea — then you drop shimasu:

Onegai, watashi ni hanashite. お願い、私に話して。	Please, talk to me.
Onegai, shinanaide. お願い、死なないで。	Please, don’t die.
Nee, onegai. ねえ、お願い。	Hey, please…

From the patterns above:

onegaishimasu (お願いします) is used:

• When asking for things or favors (the particle wo [を] is often optional);
• When getting someone’s attention for a service — a waiter, driver, clerk;
• When requesting a service you cannot carry out yourself;
• When asking for someone on the phone;
• In informal speech as short onegai;
• With a nuance close to “I’m entrusting this to you” / “I humbly request this.”

kudasai (ください) is used:

• After the object + particle wo [を] for a direct “please give me…” request;
• After a verb in the -te [て] form when you want someone to do an action;
• As everyday polite “please” with friends, peers, shop staff, and most day-to-day asks.

If you are unsure and the situation is formal, onegaishimasu is usually the safer polite choice for favors and services. For “please wait / please teach me / please come,” stick with …te kudasai.

That is the practical difference between kudasai and onegai: same English gloss, different jobs in real Japanese. For another set of polite building blocks, see the different ways to say thank you in Japanese.