Please and Thank You

October 7, 2007

There is a little ritual in Japanese schools, which American schools don’t have. At the start of class, the students all stand up. One person (they know who they are) will say, “Shisei, rei.” I know the word “rei;” it has three meanings: “polite,” “gratitude,” and “bow” (the action not the ribbon). In this case it means “bow,” for as soon as the student says, “rei,” the class all bows. The teacher bows, too. This ritual is repeated at the end of class.

I caught onto this ritual fairly quickly, but what I didn’t immediately catch was the words the students and teachers all mumbled in unison when they bowed. For a while I bowed quietly. But I caught on soon enough. When class starts, everyone says, “Onegaishimasu.” When class ends, they all say “Arigatou gozaimsu.”

“Onegashimasu” means “please.” “Argatou gozaimasu” means “thank you.”

It’s interesting that even in high school, every class is an opportunity to practice the basics of manners: saying please and thank you.