Japanese words & phrases you should write in hiragana.
So that you won’t accidentally write “Give me your shoes.”…
One of the questions I’m asked often is this;
“Why do some Japanese people write 宜しくお願い致します while others use よろしくお願いいたします? Which one is more correct?”
The answer is, よろしくお願いいたします is more correct. Why? Here are some facts even many Japanese people don’t know.
1. Some words mean very different things when written in hiragana or kanji.
Some words have multiple meanings and sometimes they are written in hiragana or kanji depending on how they are used. When the word works as a helper auxiliary, it’s usually written in hiragana. But let’s just put grammar blah blah aside and look at the examples.
ください vs 下さい
ください : Please do … (polite request)
教えてください Please teach me.
これを読んでください Please read this.
窓を開けてください Please open the window.
下さい : Please give me…
これを下さい Please give this to me.
コーヒーを下さい Please give me coffee.
アドバイスを下さい Please give me an advice.
Using this kanji incorrectly can lead to a big misunderstanding….
靴を脱いでください Please take off your shoes.
靴を脱いで下さい Please take off your shoes and give them to me. (!!!)
できる vs 出来る
できる : can do…(potentially, ability)
運転できる I can drive.
英語ができる I can speak English.
料理できる I can cook.
出来る : to be made/ to be completed
レポートが出来た The report is completed.
晩御飯が出来た The dinner is ready(made).
新しい店が出来た The new store has been built(made).
いたす vs 致す
いたす： Helper auxiliary to make the phrase polite (doesn’t have a meaning itself)
お願いいたします: *There’s no English translation for this phrase, but if you’re reading this article, you know what this means!
失礼いたします: Excuse me.
致す：bring about…/cause… (very rarely used, old-fashion word)
私の不徳の致すところでございます: My lack of discretion caused this trouble. (It’s my fault)
ございます vs ございます（御座います）*
ございます: Helper auxiliary to make the phrase polite (doesn’t have a meaning itself)
ありがとうございます Thank you very much.
おはようございます Good morning.
ございます（御座います）: There is…(Politer version of あります)
*Even though this ございます is not a helper auxiliary, it’s written in hiragana in modern Japanese language.
新商品がございます: There is a new product.
質問はございますか：Is there a question?
2. Etymology (word origin) and modern language
Have you ever wondered why こんにちは: Hello is spelled with は instead of わ？
That’s because こんにちは was originally shortened from a longer phrase:
今日（こんにち）は良いお天気ですね： It’s a nice day today
Or 今日（こんにち）はご機嫌いかがですか ：How are you today?
Same goes for こんばんは: Good evening
今晩（こんばん）は良い夜ですね : It’s a nice evening.
And おはよう: Good morning.
お早（はよ）うございます: You’re up early./ You’re here early.
In modern Japanese language, those meanings disappeared and they are now just greetings equivalent to English phrases Good morning / Hello / Good evening and written in hiragana.
ありがとう vs 有難う
Now let’s look at the origin of the word ありがとう：Thank you.
有難し（ありがたし）: a rare thing (used to express appreciation for things rare or difficult to get.)
Again, the original meaning disappeared in modern Japanese language and now it just means Thank you and written in hiragana.
As well as Ministry of Education announces the guidelines of standard writing system every once in a while, some newspaper companies also publish guide books as the language keep changing.
3. It’s just wrong
よろしくvs 宜しく
Fist of all, 宜 was never the kanji for the phrase よろしくお願いします. However, people started using this kanji out of a word 便宜（べんぎ）which means convenience.
便宜を図る：to suit the convenience of someone
よろしくお願いいたします: Please treat me favorably
These two sentences have similar meanings, which led to people using this kanji incorrectly. Since a lot of people misused this kanji so frequently, now it automatically shows up as a suggestion when you type “yoroshiku”, and the confusion spread even more.
Thank you for reading!
