How to say “check, please” in Japanese

Honestly speaking, “check, please” is acceptable and very understandable in many cases even in Japan. In this blog post, however, I will explain the Japanese expression, “okaikei onegaishimasu”, in detail. Understanding its components would help us a lot to use it correctly. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “okaikei onegaishimasu”
• Components of “okaikei onegaishimasu”
• Example #1: how to ask for the bill in Japanese
• Example #2: how to ask for the bill in a casual way
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “okaikei onegaishimasu”

First of all, let me start with the definition and meaning of “okaikei onegaishimasu”.

• okaikei onegaishimasu – お会計お願いします (おかいけいおねがいします) : a Japanese expression for ‘check, please’.

Japanese people quite often use this expression to ask for the bill in Japanese. To understand this expression a bit more clearly, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.

Components of “okaikei onegaishimasu”

Grammatically, the expression can be broken down into the following parts:

• o – お : a prefix used to make its following word polite. In the expression, it is put before the noun, “kaikei”, to make it sound polite. This prefix can also be found in other words like “omotenashi” and “onamae“.
• kaikei – 会計 (かいけい) : a noun meaning ‘bill’, ‘check’, or ‘payment’ in Japanese. In the expression, it is used as a part of its polite form, “okaikei”.
• onegai shi – お願いし (おねがいし) : one conjugation of the verb, “onegai suru”, which means ‘to ask’, ‘to request’, ‘to wish’, or ‘to beg’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for the better connection with “masu”. Learn more about “onegai“.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb put after a verb to make it polite. In the expression, it is put after the conjugated verb, “onegai shi”, to make it sound polite.

To tell the truth, the verb, “onegai suru”, can be broken down into further smaller parts, but in reality this verb is widely used as one individual word. So, I’ve explained it as one word.

From these four components, we can understand that “okaikei onegaishimasu” is literally a Japanese polite expression to ask for the bill. Japanese native speakers quite often use this expression to ask for the bill in restaurants and shops.

Next, then, let me explain how to use this expression through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to ask for the bill in Japanese

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• sumimasen – すみません : an interjection meaning ‘excuse me’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “okaikei onegaishimasu”. In this example, it is used together with “sumimasen”. Due to this interjection, the example sentence sounds very polite.

We should be as polite as possible especially in restaurants we’ve never tried before. The example sentence would be suitable in such situations. But, in restaurants we visit regularly, we can use a bit more casual expression. Let me explain it through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to ask for the bill in a casual way

This sounds more casual than the last one, as “onegaishimasu”, the part for the polite request, has been omitted. If you think you are a regular of a restaurant, you can use this expression and it would be very acceptable. But, if you’re not a regular, you should stick to the full expression.

If you think you are absolutely a regular of a restaurant, perhaps you could use the much more casual expression.

This is it. But please recall that this is just the polite form of “kaikei” which means ‘bill’, ‘check’, or ‘payment’ in Japanese. It is not even a sentence. So, if you use this word, it would mean you shout ‘check’ in Japanese, or perhaps ‘bill’. You can use this word only if you think you are allowed to shout ‘check’ in the restaurant which you visit more often than three times a week, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the expression, “okaikei onegaishimasu”, in detail based on the components. And also, I’ve explained its related expressions. Let me summarize them as follows.

• okaikei onegaishimasu – お会計お願いします (おかいけいおねがいします) : a Japanese expression for ‘check, please’. Japanese people quite often use this to ask for the bill in restaurants and shops.
• sumimasen, okaikei onegaishimasu – すみません、お会計お願いします (すみません、おかいけいおねがいします) : a more polite expression of “okaikei onegaishimasu”.
• sumimasen, okaikei – すみません、お会計 (すみません、おかいけい) : a less polite expression to ask for the bill.
• okaikei – お会計 (おかいけい) : the polite form of “kaikei”. It could be used to ask for the bill in the restaurant which you visit quite often.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

Learn more vocabulary on the app!

You can improve your Japanese vocabulary with our flashcards.