〜なさい

〜なさい is a gentle command, attached to the ます-form after dropping ます: 起きなさい (get up), 食べなさい (eat up). The speaker is typically a parent to a child or a teacher to a student — someone above who has the standing to instruct, speaking with good intentions.

Ranking the ways of telling someone what to do from strongest to gentlest: 行け (imperative form — barked) → 行きなさい (parents, teachers) → 行ってください (polite request, learned at N5). 〜なさい is softer than the imperative form but still the voice of a superior, so don't use it with friends or with people above you.

This pattern also appears constantly in exams and workbooks: 答えなさい (answer), 選びなさい (choose) — when you see it on the JLPT, just read it as "please do…". In casual conversation, なさい often gets shortened to な: 早く食べな.

Examples

• 早(はや)く起(お)きなさい。

  Get up right now.

• 野菜(やさい)も食(た)べなさい。

  Eat your vegetables too.

• 次(つぎ)の質問(しつもん)に答(こた)えなさい。

  Answer the following questions.

Related patterns

• 命令形
• 〜な