Please tell me the precise time of their arrival. - English example sentence

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blay_paul June 19, 2010 June 19, 2010 at 8:37:59 PM UTC

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A quick note on ください. ください is a polite command, or, if you prefer, a brusque request. In other words I would say it is equally suited to translations with and without 'please'.

Something you can get a glimpse of in the 和英 dictionary at goo.ne.jp
http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/lea...1%95%E3%81%84/

xtofu80 June 20, 2010 June 20, 2010 at 12:12:07 AM UTC

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Thanks Paul, I can see your point.

I guess I translate sentences in a more schematic way:
下さい <=> please
なさい <=> without please

In the same way, when I translate into German, I choose the level of politeness ("du" vs. "Sie") basically according to the level of politeness in Japanese (敬語=>"Sie",infinitive =>"du",ます usually "du" for convenience).

In the end, what it boils down to is the problem that in sentence-based translations, there is not enough context to choose the right tone / politeness level which one would choose in a real-life situation, that's why I base my translations on the above patterns.