The Definition of Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu

[AsahinaKimi]

For all you Japanese language learning 生徒 out there, this isn’t your normal “found on a Q&A site ‘What does yoroshiku onegaishimasu mean'” kind of post. No. This is the ultimate ‘What does Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu mean?’ kind of post. And by “ultimate” I mean “holy crap, look at that kanji!”

The Definition of Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu

The definition of “yoroshiku onegaishimasu” is really hard. It’s one of those words that isn’t really translatable. It’s a concept that’s hard to grasp and hard to define in the English language (not to mention plenty of other languages as well). I’m sure that many of you will have “correct” definitions of yoroshiku onegaishimasu as well (put them in the comments / read the comments, they’re useful!). There are different ways that yoroshiku onegaishimasu is used, as well, depending on the situation. We’ll also take a look at the shorter, more casual yoroshiku, just in case you weren’t sure of the difference.

Let’s take a look at some attempts at “definitions.” Keep in mind, these definitions are clunky at best. We’ll take these and put them into “example situations” as well, so you can get a better understanding of these definitions a little later.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu:

In general, you’ll want to use this one in more formal situations, with people that have a higher status than you, and basically anytime you’re not sure which one to use. It’s more formal that yoroshiku on its own, but it’s also safer, too.

more...http://www.tofugu.com/2011/02/23/yoroshiku-onegaishimasu-meaning/

[LostOne4Ever]

1. I have been studying Japanese mainly from this site:

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/

[font style="font-family:papyrus,'Brush Script MT','Infindel B',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Which more or less gives a casual translation of "it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," and a more exact translation of "Please treat me well."

Similar to your article I personally tried to use the kanji to determine its meaning early on in my studies:

どうぞ宜しくお願いします (douzo yoroshikuonegaishimasu)

According to Denshi Jisho 宜しく meaning to send one's best regards, and 願う meaning please/to wish. So I personally like to think of it as "please accept my best regards and wishes."

Of course, I am pretty sure that Japanese language predates the use of kanji by centuries so I don't know how reliable it is to use the kanji to determine its meaning, and being a part time student of the language I think it best for me to stick with the site’s more literal definition of "please treat me well." [/font]

[yuiyoshida]

2. As said in the article its one of those phrases that

does not translate well into English and has various uses... in fact you could bump into someone accidentally, say "sumimasen" followed up by "dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu" meaning you go first... lots of different situations it can be used.