お／ご～ください
honorific request
お／ご～ください is the standard honorific way to ask someone to do something. It is formed with the honorific prefix お or ご, the verb's ます-stem (or a する-verb noun), and ください.
It maps to a formal English “please ...” and is what you hear in shops, stations, offices, and announcements. It is one step more respectful than plain ～てください: 待ってください is a normal polite request, while お待ちください shows extra deference to the listener.
1. お + verb stem + ください (native verbs)
Verbs of Japanese origin take お before the ます-stem.
少々お待ちください。
“Please wait a moment.”
- 少々（しょうしょう）= a moment (formal)
- お待ちください（おまちください）= please wait (honorific)
2. ご + する-verb noun + ください (Sino-Japanese verbs)
Nouns of Chinese origin that pair with する (確認する, 注意する) usually take ご instead.
こちらの資料をご確認ください。
“Please check these materials.”
- こちら = this (polite)
- の = noun-linking particle
- 資料（しりょう）= materials, documents
- を = object marker
- ご確認ください（ごかくにんください）= please check (honorific)
How to form it
お + verb ます-stem + ください, or ご + する-verb noun + ください
- 待つ（まつ）= to wait → お待ちください（おまちください）= please wait
- 入る（はいる）= to enter → お入りください（おはいりください）= please come in
- 確認する（かくにんする）= to check → ご確認ください（ごかくにんください）= please check
Key idea
お／ご～ください wraps a request in respect for the listener. Pick お for native verb stems and ご for する-verb nouns, and you have the polished “please” used throughout customer service and formal life.
Other N3 grammar
Updated .