Dojo Terminology Explained

Martial Arts and the Japanese Culture

We always say onegai shimasu and arigato gozaimashita all the time in martial arts and Japanese culture. It is important to know the meanings of the words and how to say them.

Onegaishimasu

"Onegai" is actually "O" + "negai". When we want to be polite we add "O" at the beginning of a noun.

However, you cannot omit "o" from "onegai shimasu" to make a friendly, nonformal form.

It is simply because "onegai shimasu" is a phrase that cannot be made into a friendly form, I guess.

If I must come up with some kind of explanation, I have to explain the meaning of "onegai shimasu".

When you say "onegai shimasu", you are asking others to do something. Maybe you are asking them for a favor.

In the dojo, when we say "onegai shimasu", we are saying "I ask you to train with me." or "Please train with me."

When you ask someone for something, you should be polite, and that is why we do not have a friendly form of "onegai shimasu", maybe.

"Shimasu" consists of "shi" and "masu". "shi" makes "onegai" a verb and "masu" makes the sentence a polite form.

Arigatou gozaimashita

"gozaimashita" is a past tense of "gozaimasu". Since we say this before leaving after training, it is used in its past tense. Again, this is a polite form.

The meaning of "arigato" is to thank or to appreciate

Thus, "arigatou gozaimashita" in the gym means, "Thank you for training with me."

I hope this explanation helps!