Use ください or お願いします to simply request an item, and switch to にします when you’re announcing the choice you’ve just settled on.
This guide is for N5-N4 learners who freeze up when it’s their turn to order. After reading, you’ll know exactly which phrase to use at each moment in a real restaurant conversation.
Quick summary: Request with ください or お願いします, but switch to にします when you’re stating a decision you’ve just made.
| Phrase | When to Use It | Example Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| 〜をください | Requesting a specific item by name | Ordering ramen directly: チャーシューメンをください |
| 〜をお願いします | Requesting items, service, or the bill — flexible beyond single items | Starting a round: 枝豆とハイボールをお願いします |
| 〜にします | Announcing your decision after considering the menu | Finalizing your order: 焼き鳥にします |
| 何になさいますか | Staff politely asking what you’d like (honorific) | Waiter asking: ご注文は何になさいますか |
- Why English “I’ll Have” Doesn’t Prepare You for ください and にします
- The One-Question Test: Are You Requesting or Deciding?
- ください and お願いします: Asking for What You Want
- にします: Announcing Your Choice From the Menu
- Ordering a Whole Round: Combining ください, お願いします, and にします at the Table
- FAQ: Useful Japanese Phrases for Ordering Food
- Quiz: Test Your Ordering Phrases
- Summary: Requesting vs Deciding
Why English “I’ll Have” Doesn’t Prepare You for ください and にします
One English Phrase, Two Japanese Jobs
In English, you say “I’ll have the ramen” whether you’re simply asking for food or announcing a choice. One phrase covers both jobs.
Japanese splits this into two separate moves. That split can feel like an extra, unnecessary step at first.
English uses the single phrase “I’ll have the ramen” both to casually ask a server for something and to announce a decision you just made. This hides a switch that Japanese actually makes out loud, using ください and にします.
This analogy breaks down once you’re mid-order. “I’ll have” stops telling you which Japanese phrase to use, because English never forces you to mark whether you’re requesting or deciding.
Reaching for ほしいです, or just naming the food with no polite ending, can sound like a child asking for juice. It’s not how a customer places an order.
The One-Question Test: Are You Requesting or Deciding?
Picking the Right Tool Mid-Order
Ask yourself: am I just telling the server what to bring me, or am I announcing the choice I settled on after looking at the menu? Requesting calls for ください or お願いします. Deciding calls for にします.
Say you already know you want water. You’re not comparing options, so you just ask directly: お水をください.
Now say you’ve been staring at the ramen menu for five minutes. You finally pick one, so you announce it: 味噌ラーメンにします. The moment of choosing is what triggers にします.
ください and お願いします: Asking for What You Want
Two Polite Requests, One Small Difference
ください attaches directly to the item you want. It works best for simple, item-specific orders like a single dish.
お願いします is more flexible, and a little softer. It fits when you’re ordering for the whole table, asking for a service, or calling for the bill — things ください does not cover well.
Japanese: すみません、チャーシューメンをください。
Romaji: Sumimasen, chaashuumen o kudasai.
English: English: Excuse me, the chashu ramen, please.
Why: Shows ください attaching directly to a specific menu item to make a simple, polite request.
Japanese: とりあえず、枝豆とハイボールをお願いします。
Romaji: Toriaezu, edamame to haibooru o onegaishimasu.
English: For starters, edamame and a highball, please.
Why: Shows お願いします used to kick off a round of food and drinks for the table, a natural fit when requesting more than just one item for yourself.
にします: Announcing Your Choice From the Menu
Closing the Deal on a Decision
にします marks the moment you finalize your choice among several options. It’s not just a plain request, it’s a decision.
Staff flip this pattern into the honorific question 何になさいますか.You answer with plain にします. なさいます is honorific language the staff uses about you, so you cannot use it about your own action.
Japanese: じゃあ、味噌ラーメンにします。
Romaji: Jaa, miso raamen ni shimasu.
English: Okay, I’ll have the miso ramen.
Why: Shows にします marking the moment you settle on your choice after reading the ramen menu, spoken here as the customer’s own line rather than the server’s question.
Japanese: やっぱり、焼き鳥にします。
Romaji: Yappari, yakitori ni shimasu.
English: Actually, I’ll have the yakitori.
Why: Shows にします marking the moment you settle on one choice after considering the menu, highlighted by やっぱり signaling a final decision.
Ordering a Whole Round: Combining ください, お願いします, and にします at the Table
How Real Orders Mix All Three
A single restaurant visit often uses all three forms back to back. You usually start with deciding, then end with the final request.
At an izakaya, each person often says their own にします first. Then someone wraps the whole table’s order up with one お願いします.
Learners sometimes reach for ほしいです instead of a real order phrase. It sounds too direct, closer to a want than an order.
ラーメンが欲しいです。
ラーメンをください。
English speakers translate “I want ramen” directly into ほしいです. This carries over how naturally “want” works as a polite request in English, but it doesn’t transfer the same way into Japanese.
Common Mistake: Writing ラーメンをにします instead of ラーメンにします. Learners add を because they learned it as the object marker with verbs like 食べます, but にします marks your choice with に, so the item takes に and not を. Say ラーメンにします.
FAQ: Useful Japanese Phrases for Ordering Food
What’s the difference between ください and お願いします when ordering food?
Both politely request something, but ください attaches straight to the item you want, while お願いします is a bit more flexible and covers things like multiple items, services, or the bill.
Is it rude to say ラーメンが欲しいです at a restaurant?
It’s not grammatically wrong, but it sounds blunt and childish to a server, like a kid asking for juice. Use ください or お願いします instead for a natural, polite order.
How do I answer when a waiter asks 何になさいますか?
Just name the item and add にします, like カレーにします for “I’ll have the curry.” Don’t copy なさいます in your answer. It is honorific language used about the customer, so plain にします is the correct form for your own choice.
Quiz: Test Your Ordering Phrases
Try these three questions before checking the answers below.
- You want to ask for the bill. Which is natural: お会計をください or お会計をお願いします?
- What’s the difference in meaning between カレーにします and カレーをください?
- Fill in the blank for a server’s polite question: ご注文は＿＿？
1. お会計をお願いします– ください attaches to a physical item you want handed to you. For a service like settling the bill, お願いします is the natural choice.
2. Both result in getting curry, but they frame the moment differently. – カレーにします frames it as your personal decision after weighing options, roughly “I’ve decided on curry,” while カレーをください is a plain, direct request, roughly “Curry, please,” without implying you were comparing choices.
3. 何になさいますか – The staff-facing honorific question uses になさいますか; にします is reserved for the customer’s own answer, not the question itself.
Summary: Requesting vs Deciding
- ください attaches directly to an item for a simple, polite request, while お願いします flexibly covers requests involving multiple items or services.
- にします marks the moment you finalize a choice among menu options, and staff flip it into the honorific question 何になさいますか when asking what you’d like.
- A single restaurant visit naturally combines all three forms, moving from deciding with にします to wrapping up the order with お願いします.
Once these three phrases feel natural, you’re ready to handle a full restaurant visit with confidence. Keep practicing with real menus, and the next guide will build on this foundation.
