Welcome to Episode 62 of Real Japanese Talk with Haruka & Saki! 🗼🐙

🤝 "Yoroshiku onegai shimasu... but what does it actually MEAN?" Saki's foreign friend is stumped - because this one phrase does the work of a dozen English expressions and can't be translated in a single word. Today Haruka decodes Japan's ultimate all-purpose phrase. 🎯

You'll learn three words:

• よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) - the magic phrase itself

• 挨拶 (aisatsu) - a greeting: at a first meeting it means "nice to meet you"; at New Year, "let's have a good year"

• 頼む (tanomu) - to ask a favor: when handing off work, it means "please take care of it"

💡 Inside: the same phrase shifts meaning by situation (Japanese people just know from context), it politens up to 「よろしくお願いいたします」 for business, and the email sign-off version blends BOTH the greeting and the request. When in doubt, this phrase never fails - the lubricant of Japanese communication.

Perfect for N3-N2 learners who keep hearing this everywhere and want to truly get it. Tokyo & Kansai dialogue, fully shadowable. Full transcript & study notes on Patreon. 🎧

【Today's Vocabulary / 今日の言葉】

・よろしくお願いします (よろしくおねがいします) - An all-purpose set phrase with no single English equivalent. Its meaning depends on the situation: at a first meeting or self-introduction it works like "nice to meet you"; when entrusting a task it means "please take care of it"; at New Year 「今年もよろしく」 means "let's keep up our good relationship this year"; and as an email sign-off it blends greeting and request. The polite form is 「よろしくお願いいたします」. It smooths social interaction - often called the "lubricant" of Japanese. Broken down: よろしく (well/favorably) + お願いします (I request).

・挨拶 (あいさつ) - A greeting; the polite words exchanged when meeting, parting, or on social occasions. Equivalent to English "greeting." Used as a する-verb: 「挨拶する」 (to greet). Examples include おはよう, こんにちは, and, as in this episode, 「よろしくお願いします」 at a first meeting. It also covers a short formal speech (「一言ご挨拶」). Doing proper 挨拶 is considered important social etiquette in Japan. Related words: 「お辞儀」 (ojigi, a bow) and 「会釈」 (eshaku, a slight nod).

・頼む (たのむ) - To ask someone to do something; to request or rely on. Equivalent to English "to ask (a favor)" or "to request." Used like 「仕事を頼む」 (ask someone to do a job), 「友達に頼む」 (ask a friend). In this episode, 「よろしくお願いします」 in the sense of handing off work is essentially 頼む. The noun form is 「頼み」 (tanomi, a request), and a polite way to ask is 「お願いする」. Related words: 「依頼」 (irai, a formal request) and 「任せる」 (makaseru, to entrust).

📄 Get the Full Transcript with Furigana & Study Guide on our Patreon!シャドーイングに便利な「ふりがな付き台本」はこちら：👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/posts/155837588⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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