How to Order Food in Japanese: これをください for Beginners

You are standing at a café counter with a menu you cannot fully read. You can see the drink you want, but you do not know its Japanese name. Pointing and using one short request lets you order without building a long sentence.

The short answer: これをください

To ask for the item near you, say これをください (kore o kudasai), meaning “This, please” or “I’ll have this, please.” It is a direct, polite request for an item.

The word これ (kore) means “this” and can stand by itself. Point to the menu item as you say the sentence.

In conversation, the object particle を is often omitted, so you will also hear これ、ください (kore, kudasai). Both forms work for this lesson’s café scene.

Name the item when you know it

The café worker understands your first request. Now you recognize a few menu words. Replace これ with the item you want and keep the request at the end.

The useful pattern is: [item] + を + ください. In everyday ordering, を may be left out when the item is clear.

Start with みず (mizu) if you want the simplest drink substitution.

You can swap in コーヒー (koohii) without changing the rest of the pattern.

Review パン (bread) and ラーメン in the vocabulary library, then repeat both orders at the same speed.

Point from the other side of the counter

The worker picks up a different item. If the thing is closer to the other person, change これ to それ (sore), meaning “that.”

The contrast between これ and それ (sore) makes pointing more precise: これ for this near you, それ for that near the listener.

Do not treat distance as an absolute measurement. The useful beginner decision is whose side of the conversation the item feels closer to.

Use この before the item’s name

A bread display contains several choices. これ can stand alone, but この (kono) must come immediately before a noun. Use it when you can name the particular thing you are pointing to.

Compare the shapes: これをください means “This, please.” このパンをください means “This bread, please.” Do not say このをください because この needs a noun after it.

Add a quantity after the item

You decide to take more than one. Put the quantity after the item and before ください. The beginner counters ひとつ and ふたつ let you ask for one or two items when a more specific counter is not needed.

The last example uses おちゃ (ocha) for tea. Keep the item first, then the quantity, then ください.

ください and おねがいします

The worker asks for your final choice. ください makes a clear, polite request. おねがいします (onegai shimasu) can also follow the thing you want and is a more polite request formula in the Japan Foundation’s ordering material.

Open the reviewed entry for おねがいします if you want to practise its pronunciation before the role-play.

This is different from saying what you want with ほしいです. The companion lesson explains ほしいです versus ください: one describes a desire, while the other directly requests the item.

Mistakes to catch before you order

• Do not use この by itself. Say これ, or put a noun after この.
• Remember that を is written を but normally pronounced o, not wo, in this pattern.
• Do not assume を must always be audible. It is commonly omitted in conversational ordering.
• Use それ rather than これ when the item is presented on the other person’s side.

Practise the whole café visit

Now the same request grows into a short exchange. Read the customer lines first, then switch roles.

A short role-play

The customer begins with すみません (sumimasen) to get attention politely, then makes the request.

Change the order three times: point with これ, name a drink, and finally ask for two. The pattern should become easier while the café situation stays the same.

Fill the blank with みず, おちゃ, コーヒー, パン, or ラーメン. Then repeat one version without を, as you may hear in conversation.

Quick quiz

1. What does これをください mean?
2. How do you ask for water?
3. Which can stand alone: これ or この?
4. How do you ask for this bread?
5. What does これをふたつください mean?

Answers

1. “This, please” or “I’ll have this, please.”
2. みずをください (mizu o kudasai).
3. これ can stand alone. この must come before a noun.
4. このパンをください (kono pan o kudasai).
5. “Two of these, please.”

Questions beginners often ask

Can I order if I cannot read the menu?

Yes. Point to a picture or item and say これをください or the conversational これ、ください. You do not need the dish name for this basic request.

Is ください polite?

Yes. It is a respectful but direct request. In ordering situations, おねがいします is another useful option and can sound more polite.

How do I ask for two?

Put ふたつ before ください: これをふたつください. If you know the item, use item + を + ふたつ + ください.

Leave the counter with a reusable pattern

You began by pointing because the menu was unfamiliar. Then you named an item, adjusted the distance with それ, specified a noun with この, and added a quantity. Keep the simple order in mind: item, optional を, quantity when needed, then ください.

Continue learning

Compare this direct request with ほしいです for saying what you want, review the food and everyday vocabulary, practise hiragana and katakana, or return to the beginner lesson hub.