お世話になります ( = Osewa ni narimasu ) (Polite Japanese)

sewa

「マギー先生、いつもお世話になっております。」

= Maggie Sensei, itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu.

Maggie Sensei, thank you for always taking care of me. (Thank you for all your work for me.)

(ゴーヤって..)

= Gouyatte…

What!? Goya?

Today I will teach you a very useful line

お世話になります。

= Osewa ni narimasu.


世話  = sewa = care

verb: 世話をする
= sewa wo suru
to take care of someone or something, to look after s.o./s.t.

(passive)

•世話になる
= sewa ni naru
to be taken care of, (someone takes care of you, looks after you)

•世話をかける
=sewa wo kakeru
=to trouble someone, to make someone work for you

•世話好き

=sewa zuki

=Someone who love to take care of others or help others.

余計なお世話!

=Yokei na osewa!

=None of your business! / Mind your business!

*************************

「お世話になります。」

=Osewa ni narimasu.

=Thank you for your support, kindness, work, cooperation (in advance).

It’s a phrase which shows your appreciation towards someone’s continuous work or service or their future work or service for you.

We often add いつも=itsumo=always, continuous

いつもお世話になります。 (or なっております)

=Itsumo osewani narimasu (or natteorimasu)

*なっております=natte orimasu  is more polite.

It is a formal expression so you don’t usually use this with your family or friends.
However, we say this line almost all the time to start a conversation in daily life and daily business situations.
We use it for telephone conversations, emails, and letters as well.

If you have a chance to hear how we start telephone conversations in Japanese, pay attention to this phrase. We often say

もしもしいつもお世話になります、(なっております。)マギーです。」

= Moshimoshi itsumo osewa ni narimasu (or natte orimasu), Maggie desu.

Hello this is Maggie. Thank you for always taking care of me.

If someone says that, you can also answer,

「お世話になっております。」

= Osewa ni natte orimasu.

To whom you say:
いつもお世話になります。
= Itsumo osewani narimasu.

or いつもお世話になっております。
= Itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu.( more polite)

•To business related people  (But do not say this your subordinators.)

To doctors or nurses

To your school teacher or staff

To your customers

When to say this:

•To call  your business or work related people, offices, doctors, schools, you say this with your name.

•To email or write to people who you think you owe them work.

•When you see someone who has been taking care of you or doing some work for you on the street


Note : If you see that person every day, you don’t say this in the office or place you usually meet.
But for example if you see your boss’ family on the street,
you should say

「~さん/~( or   job title   ex. 課長 = kachou = section manager) にはいつもお世話になっています。」

=~san (or job title) niwa itsumo osewa ni natteimasu.

=~ san is always taking care of me. Thank you!

If you want to say this for your family or your company staff, you say,

Ex. 息子いつもお世話になっています。
= Musuko ga itsumo osewa ni natteimasu.
My son always troubles you. Thank you for taking care of him.

If it was just a one-time thing, you should use the past tense.

先日は(or この間はお世話になりました。
= Senjitsu wa ( kono aida wa) osewa ni narimashita.
Thank you for the other day.

(Remember this is not for “material thing” but for the service you received or some trouble you cause.)

When you start your job, start doing business with somebody, or you start a class, or some social activity and anticipate they will take care of you, you say,

これからお世話になります。

=Korekara osewa ni narimasu.

=Thank you for your support in advance.

(We also say

よろしくお願いします。

= Yoroshiku onegai shimasu, in this case.)

From the pic.

I am not sure if you have seen ゴーヤ = gouya. The dictionary says ” bitter gourd”or “bitter melon”

It is typical vegetables in Okinawa and we eat them in summer. Since it has been very hot in Japan, we have received lots of them this year.

「ど〜ぞ!」= doozo (casual)どうぞ = douzo

=Here you are! /This is for you!


maggie-senseiFrom Maggie-Sensei

大きなお肉の塊の方が嬉しいんだけど..

=Ookina oniku no katamari no hou ga ureshiin dakedo.

=I’d prefer a big chunk of meat…

***

Will you be my Patron? 

I appreciate your support!  サポートありがとう!

Become a Patron!

 




You may also like

58 Comments

  1. 先生、久しぶりにレッスンを勉強したよ!
    いつもお世話になります!レッスンをずっと頑張って作ってくれて本当にありがとうございます!! 出来ればこの辺にもっと(más seguidoってどう言えますか?)現れてくるよ!

    1. Ortiiii!😊

      元気だった?
      más seguido もっと頻繁(ひんぱん)に/ もっと
      この辺:このサイトのこと?
      だったら、→出来ればここにもっと頻繁に来るようにするよ。

      また、待っていますよ♪

      1. はいはい!元気っすよ! 先生は?

        デジタル地帯みたいな感じで「この辺」を使ってみたwww
        教えてくれてありがとうございました!

  2. Hi,
    Is 私を愛してくれてありがとう a good translation for “Thank you for loving me”

    Many thanks for this great article!

  3. Hello Maggie sensei!

    I am working in a kaigo facility and my workmate will be leaving at the end of the month.

    I want to hand over a gift to her on her last day of her duty and i am wondering what should i say to her. Can i use お世話になりました to her even though she is the one who is leaving? What appropriate phrase whould i tell her instead? Thank you in advance!

  4. マギー先生、こんにちは!

    Is it ok to use 「先月はお世話になって、どうもありがとうございます。」when I want to express my thanks at the end of a training course?

    Thank you!!

    1. Hi Ara,
      I would say
      先月はお世話になりありがとうございました。or just say
      先月はお世話になりました。

  5. Hello Maggie-Sensei! I have read a lot from your articles but i never comment (笑)

    This time i want to ask about “taking care” ( ´ ▽ ` )ノ

    How to say : thank you for always taking care of A-san.

    Should we use sewa o suru or sewa ni naru? Can you give an example for using sewa o suru?

    1. Hello Sno!

      So you want to say thank you to someone who has been taking care of A-chan?
      Then I suppose A-chan is your child, younger brother/sister.
      You can say
      Aちゃんが(いつも) お世話になっています。 = A chan ga (itsumo) osewa ninatte imasu.

  6. Maggie-Sensei, konnichiha!

    If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a question on that matter, though this thread is rather old.

    What is the difference between “osewa wo suru” and “mendou wo miru”? If I want to tell a girl that I always want to take care of her, which of these two would be appropriate? Or maybe none of these would be appropriate?

    Thank you in advance for your help!

    1. Hi Ralph,

      the difference between お世話をする (osewa suru) vs 面倒をみる( mendou wo miru)
      お世話をする is more polite and 面倒 has a connotation of “trouble”.

      If you take care of your girlfriend, I would say 大事にする( = daiji ni suru) which sounds much more romantic.

  7. Hi Maggie, congratulations on your website! The passion for the Japanese language is very clear in your work! Great job!

    I hope you can help me with the following request. I am trying to find an expression to thank my son’s teachers for the past (and future) guidance and help in his sport (jiu jitsu).
    I found Itsuno osewa ni narimasu/narmashita and
    Domo arigato gozaimashita

    Could I use any of the two expressions? Or do you have a better phrase that expresses gratitude on a more apropriate way?

    Thank you very much,
    Mary

  8. Hi Maggie

    How can I reassure my girlfriends mother that i will look after/take care if her when she moves to my country? I also want to tell her not to worry but i dont know if that translates well.

    Thank you!

    1. @PK

      Nanimo shinpai shinaide kochira ni kite kudasai.
      Kochira dewa watashi ni subete makasete kudasai.

      (Please do not worry about anything and come here. You can rely on me once you come here.)

      There are expressions that
      watashi ga osewa wo sasete itadakimasu. ( I will take care of you)
      Watashi ni mendou wo misasete kudasai. (Let me take care of you)
      But these expressions are for someone weak (physically, financially)

  9. Hi, Maggie先生 !niconico! 
    What should I say for my potentional director (If he/she knows my name already)

    「…と申します。よろしくお願いします。」、
    「…でございます。よろしくお願いします。」 or
    「…でございます。お世話になっております。」?:roll:

    1. @OKちゃん

      Hi OKちゃん
      The potential director already knows your name but you haven’t see that director yet?
      If so the third one doesn’t work.

      And the keigo level depend on how high his position is.
      〜です。よろしくお願いします。(polite) I think this is sufficient.
      ~ と申します。よろしくお願い致します。(very polite) If you are not comfortable, use this form.

  10. If you were resigning from a position at a place of business, what phrase would be more appropriate in thanking your employer for taking care of you during your time with the company?

    1. @cora

      Either you say thank you or say sorry for all the troubles.
      長い間お休みを頂き有り難うございました。
      = Nagai aida oyasumi wo itadaki arigatou gozaimashita.
      = Thank you for giving me a long vacation.

      長い間、お休みを取らせて頂き、ご迷惑をおかけいたしました。
      = Nagai aida, oyasumi wo torasete itadaki, gomeiwaku wo okake itashimashita.
      = Sorry for all the trouble during my absence.

      And then you can continue
      今日からまたよろしくお願いいたします。
      = Kyou kara mata yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.
      There isn’t equivalent translation in English but it means,
      (= Thank you in advance for letting me work from today.)

    1. @Ken

      If you don’t come back to the school and it is your last day, you can say お世話になりました。
      But you can say この学期(がっき=term) では、お世話になりました。また来学期(らいがっき= next term) もよろしくお願いします。

      1. Thank you very much.
        I could have sworn that I replied back in March, but came back for a refresher since I left one of my schools today. Now I’m going home to sob into my pillow
        :zzzz2:

  11. Hi, I would like to ask a question. :) How do we use the phrase お世話になっております when talking to a friend’s boss? For example my friend introduced me to his boss, would it be appropriate to answer, 友人がいつもお世話になっております? Thanks for your reply in advance! :)

    1. @工藤

      Hello, 工藤さん!
      Though we don’t usually say お世話になっています towards our friend’s boss (if you are their family, yes) , I guess you can say that if you always hear their boss really takes care of your friend or they work for a small company.

  12. Wonderful lesson for me, an intermediate Japanese speaker. Really great in-depth look at “seiwa”. Oseiwa ni narimashita. Arigatou gozimashita.

  13. Could you use to negative of 世話をかける to express that something was no trouble? So something like お世話をかけません? Thanks!

  14. こんにちは、マギー先生!

    相手に「お世話になっています」とか「よろしくお願いします」を言われる時、どうやって反応すればいいですか? 適当な返事を教えていただきませんか?

    らわ

    1. @Lava
      こんにちは、Lava.
      その場合は「こちらこそ」をつければいいです。
      「こちらこそお世話になっています。」
      「こちらこそよろしくお願いします。」
      または最後の部分を省略して
      「こちらこそ」だけ言うことも多いです。
      こちらこそ

  15. ehrm another question,
    I know every language has it’s own system with tense forms, so I would be really happy if yu could give me a overview for japanese tenseforms with an example??
    Sorry if i demand too much! >.<

    1. @Cho
      OK, here are some examples for you.

      ★Present tense 現在形(genzaikei)
      Ex. 私は日本語を勉強している
      = I am studying Japanese.

      ★Present progressive 現在進行形(=genzai shinkoukei)
      Ex. 私は今、日本語を勉強しているところだ。
      = I am not studying Japanese.
      =

      ★Past tense 過去形(=kakokei) 1)

      Ex. 私は昨日、日本語を勉強した。
      = I studied Japanese yesterday.

      ★Past tense 過去形(=kakokei) 2) (old habit)

      Ex. 私は日本語を勉強していた。
      = I used to study Japanese.

      ★present perfect 現在完了形(=genzaikannryoukei)(one’s experiences)
      Ex. 私は日本語を勉強したことがある。
      = I have studied Japanese.

      ★future tense 未来形(=miraikei ): 1) near future, to show your will
      Ex. 私は日本語を勉強する。
      = I am going to study Japanese./ I will study Japanese.

      ★future tense 未来形(=miraikei ): 2)
      Ex. 私は日本語を勉強するだろう/するでしょう
      = I will study Japanese (in future)

      1. Hu thank you very mucht but have these tense forms a special name, future, perfect, past perfect or so.. and how would it be in japanese?

  16. Can I ask how do you answer on questions with because/cause? (is there also a short form in jp?)
    Like: Why …?
    Because..?
    urm i am not good at examples at all..
    maybe you can make some? pleaaaaaase!
    And could you may make a lesson or give me an example (or both ;)) for if senteces?
    Like: If you go to Maggie sensei’s page, you’ll find good stuff for learning Japanese!
    If you don’t go, you’ll miss much!
    Or like: I could.., if you.. .
    How I said not good at examples!
    I’m just wonderng how to say sentences like this in japanese.. Thanks in advance!!

    1. @Cho

      There are several ways to say “because”

      “というのは”、”だって”(casual) “なぜならば” (literal) + 〜(だ)からです。/ 〜(だ)から。

      Ex. というのは明日は仕事があるからです。= It’s because I have to work tomorrow.
      Ex. お腹がすいているから。= Because I am hungry

      or
      Just
      〜(だ)からです。
      Ex. 寒いからです。(Because it’s cold.)
      (casual)
      〜(だ)から。
      Ex. 怒っているから。(Because I am angry)

      ******
      If clause : I will just give you a basic pattern for today
      ★ (もし)〜なら,〜たら
      Ex. If you want to see me, come to Japan.

      もし私に会いたかったら日本に来て下さい。
      もし私に会いたいのなら日本に来て下さい。

  17. Hi! Your site is wonderful! I have a question about おせわになる… I’m writing an open letter/about me to the small town where I will be teaching English for their newspaper and I was wondering if it would be appropriate to close with これからお世話になります or if I should stick to よろしくお願いします. What do you recommend?

    1. @nichibei-peaches

      Hi!!! Thank you for your comment.
      If you are writing to people who you may not see, use よろしくお願いします。
      (これからお世話になります。is used when you address people who you actually work with or see in person expecting future help.)

  18. この記事, どうもありがとうございます!!!
    But I have one question – why do you say “ゴーヤって”, what does it mean?

    1. @Pavla

      Hi Pavla!
      Good question!
      ~って…
      It is a very colloquial speech pattern. When someone tells you something you can’t agree or when something happens you don’t like, you don’t finish a sentence and add って at the end. It gives a feelings of protesting.

      Ex. ゴーヤって… Adds a feelings of “Why Goya…It is strange to give me.”
      Ex. そんなこと言ったって… (When someone tells you something hard to accept.) Adding a feeling of protesting.
      Ex.犬が日本語を教えているって…(What? A dog teaching Japanese?? – It’s strange….) Adding surprising feeling.

      Got it?

Leave a Reply to Maggie Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *