Yoroshiku onegaishimasu: what it means
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (よろしくお願いします) means roughly please treat me well, or I look forward to working with you. It is said whenever something starts with someone: meeting them, joining a class, asking a favor. The polite answer is こちらこそ (kochira koso), likewise.
よろしくお願いします
- Reading
- よろしくおねがいします
- Romaji
- yoroshiku onegaishimasu
- Meaning
- please treat me well
Polite and casual
| Form | Who and when |
|---|---|
| よろしくyoroshikuCasual | Friends, classmates, people your age. |
| よろしくねyoroshiku neCasual | To a friend, warmly, after asking a favor. |
| よろしくお願いしますyoroshiku onegaishimasuPolite | Almost everyone: introductions, requests, the end of an email. |
| どうぞよろしくお願いしますdōzo yoroshiku onegaishimasuVery polite | A first meeting, a formal introduction. |
| よろしくお願いいたしますyoroshiku onegai itashimasuFormal | Business emails and speeches. |
When to use it
At the end of a self introduction, after はじめまして and your name.
When you ask a favor or hand over a task: この資料、よろしくお願いします, here are the documents, I'm counting on you.
At the end of almost every work email, where English would write thanks in advance or best regards. And at New Year: 今年もよろしくお願いします, I'm counting on you again this year.
When not to
It does not replace thank you once the favor is done: then it is ありがとうございました.
Casual よろしく to a boss, a teacher or a client sounds rude.
Examples
はじめまして、ケンです。よろしくお願いします。
Reading: はじめまして、ケンです。よろしくおねがいします。
Romaji: hajimemashite, Ken desu. yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Nice to meet you, I'm Ken. I look forward to working with you.
こちらこそ、よろしくお願いします。
Reading: こちらこそ、よろしくおねがいします。
Romaji: kochira koso, yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
Likewise.
これ、よろしくね。
Romaji: kore, yoroshiku ne.
Can you take care of this? Thanks.
今年もよろしくお願いします。
Reading: ことしもよろしくおねがいします。
Romaji: kotoshi mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
I'm counting on you again this year. (At New Year.)
ご検討のほど、よろしくお願いいたします。
Reading: ごけんとうのほど、よろしくおねがいいたします。
Romaji: gokentō no hodo, yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
Thank you in advance for considering this. (In a business email.)
bunka · culture
Classes, sports clubs and dojos often start with a bow and , or just , said to everyone at once, and end with a bow and .
Common mistakes
- Looking for one English translation. Think of what it does instead: it opens a relationship or hands over a request.
- Answering it with どういたしまして. The answer is こちらこそ, or こちらこそ、よろしくお願いします.
- Saying a casual よろしく to a teacher or a boss.
Questions people ask
Say it out loud, with feedback
Knowing a phrase is not the same as saying it. In Naraio you practice phrases like these in short role plays with Hana, a tutor who listens, answers in natural Japanese and scores your pronunciation, and spaced reviews bring them back before they fade.