# いただきます (itadakimasu) | Express Gratitude and Humbly Receive Things in Japanese > いただきます (itadakimasu) is used when receiving things and has a rather humble feel to it. Whether it be meals, gifts, or favors, this phrase can be used to express gratitude in a multitude of situations. **URL:** https://migaku.com/blog/japanese/itadakimasu-meaning **Last Updated:** 2025-09-16 **Tags:** vocabulary, phrases --- Imagine you visit Tokyo and stop by a McDonald's restaurant. A Japanese man sitting near you says いただきます under his breath before eating. This phrase is one of the first phrases you'll come across if you want to [learn Japanese](/learn-japanese), but your teacher may just tell you that "it's something you say before you eat". Why is that, though? What makes this phrase the Japanese equivalent of saying grace? So if you're willing to _humbly receive_ the knowledge we at Migaku happily share, keep reading and discover the true nature of いただきます. --- ## The meaning of itadakimasu Originally, いただきます (いただく in its plain form) had a meaning of placing something on one's head––think a crown or head ornament. The meaning changed over time to mean something like a humble acceptance of something given by a social superior (i.e. a boss, teacher, senpai, etc). As per the スーパー大辞林 dictionary: > 「もらう」の謙譲語。目上の人から金品をもらうことや恩恵となるような動作を受けることを，受け手を低めていう言い方。
_Humble speech version of もらう (to receive). A way of speech in which a receiver \[metaphorically\] lowers themselves and receives valuables or beneficial actions from someone of higher social status._ What these two definitions have in common is the idea of "coming down from above". A crown is lowered from the air onto one's head, and somewhat similarly, permission is granted by someone with a higher social status to someone with a lower status. In the rest of this article we'll look at several situations where いただく comes up in modern Japanese, but they all boil down to this notion of being "received from above". --- ## 1. いただきます said before a meal as table manners As illustrated at the top of this article, Japanese speakers normally say itadakimasu just before eating a meal. You can think of it as being table etiquette. *(For good measure, you often follow up with ごちそうさま{でした} after the meal).* Even salarymen who eat their lunch alone at McDonald's will still say these phrases to themselves quietly. > いただきます is often translated into English as "Let's eat!", but a more literal translation may be something like: _I humbly receive this food._ This now begs the question: who are we receiving something from, and why must you receive it humbly? While there are a few theories out there, Japanese parents and teachers often say that the phrase expresses appreciation for the people who prepared your food for you and the farmers who produced the food. The humility is in expressing gratitude for their hard work, which you are benefitting from. So should you use いただきます before eating your meals, too? If you're in Japan, go for it! If you're not in Japan, it might be seen as sort of weird, especially if those around you don't speak Japanese... but it is _indeed_ correct and proper, so we'll leave the choice up to you. --- ## 2. いただく in humble speech We have [an entire blog post about keigo](/blog/japanese/introduction-to-keigo). It's a solid read. If you're in a hurry, though, the gist is that Japanese has multiple politeness levels. Whereas politeness is a personal thing in English, it's a very functional thing in Japanese: your choice of speech level indicates how you see the relationship between yourself and the listener. Or, more concretely: > In a very basic sense, you might expect that it wouldn't be appropriate to talk to your teacher or boss as you would your bros and besties. These people (in theory) deserve a bit of face. As such, rather than using casual speech or even "just" speaking politely, society says you must use a whole new set of words and verb forms called 敬語 (_keigo_ , honorific language). There are two subcategories of keigo: - 尊敬語 (_sonkeigo_ , respectful language), used to elevate the status of the listener - 謙譲語 (_kenjōgo_ , humble language), used to lower the status of the speaker - *(丁寧語, teineigo , or "polite language" is also a thing, but it's separate from "actual" keigo)* And while there are tons of keigo expressions, you really only need to know two things when it comes to いただく: - It is a member of the humble speech category (meaning you use it to speak of _your_ actions, not those of someone else) - You'll primarily use it when receiving things and when eating or drinking ### A) A more humble version of もらう (morau, to receive) The verb もらう means _to receive_. - 私は妹に花をもらいました。
_I received flowers from my younger sister._ Breaking that down a bit, you should note that: - The thing being received is marked with を - The person receiving the object is marked with は or が - The person the object is received from is marked with に or から - (More about all of these in [our blog post on Japanese Particles](/blog/japanese/japanese-particles-guide)) But in situations that demand the speaker humble or lower themselves, もらう is switched out for いただく. This is the case with social superiors like bosses, teachers, or the Emperor. - 手紙を頂きました。
_I (humbly) received the letter._ - 頂いたお金をお返しします。
_I will return the money I (humbly) received._ - お客さまに良い評価を頂きました。
_I (humbly) received a good review from a customer._ - えりは有名な先生から本を頂きました。
_Eri (humbly) received a book from a famous professor._ Note that, if the speaker themself is the subject of the sentence, the subject will often be omitted from the sentence. Additionally, when いただく is used as a standalone verb like this, you may see it written in kanji as 頂く. ### B) A humble version of 食べる (taberu, to eat) and 飲む (nomu, to drink) The humble way to express the action of eating and drinking is also done with いただく. - 世界で一番美味しいお寿司を頂きました。
_I ate the world's most delicious sushi._ - 今、このビールを頂いてもよろしいでしょうか。
_Is it alright if I drink this beer now?_ - はい、カニを十分頂きました。
_Yes, I had enough crab._ Basically, if you're in a situation where honorific speech is expected of you, and you want to say 食べる (taberu , "to eat") or 飲む (nomu , "to drink"), you should say いただく instead. --- ## 3. いただく in other situations Here are three common grammar points in which you'll see いただく: 1. ていただく → Having someone do something for you 2. ていただけますか → Humbly requesting something 3. させていただきます → Getting permission to do something Importantly, in cases like these, where いただく is being used as part of a grammatical structure, it is often written in just hiragana. ### A) ていただく → Having someone do something for you You can use いただく to indicate that you got someone to do something for you. - 部長に助けていただきました。
_I got my department manager to help me._ - お客さまにご希望を説明していただきました。
_I had the customer explain what they wanted._ Note that the above sentences are pretty formal in nature. The more you study keigo, the more this will be a trend you notice: you just don't use keigo with your friends, so you'll often find yourself using keigo in specific situations or phrases. Here's a "normal" version of this grammar point, for reference, followed by a humble version of the same sentence: - 訂正してもらいました。
_I got (a friend, family member, younger person, etc) to correct it for me._ - 訂正していただきました。
_I got (my teacher, boss, elderly stranger, etc) to correct it for me._ ### B) ていただけますか → Humbly requesting something To make a humble request, simply use a verb in its te-form along with いただけますか or いただけませんか . - 画面を見せていただけますか。
_Could you show me your screen?_ - 口を大きく開けていただけますか。
_Could you open your mouth wide for me?_ - そのボタンをクリックしていただけませんか。
_Could I get you to click that button?_ Note the slight difference in spelling in these examples compared to the previous ones: not いただ**き**ます but rather いただ**け**ます. This is because the potential form is being used here, which makes the statement feel a bit softer. You'll often hear this phrase in the customer service industry. ### C) させていただきます → Getting permission to do something In some instances, you can declare what you are about to do by first "claiming" permission to do it. You'll often hear this structure in self introductions, for example: - 自己紹介させていただきます。
_I will give a self-introduction now. (Literally: I humbly receive the allowance of giving a self-introduction.)_ Note that you don't actually have to wait for permission. Unless somebody immediately objects, you just move on with whatever you said you were going to do. - 一年以内に連絡がない場合、処分させていただきます。
_In the event that there is no contact within a year, we will dispose of it._ - 本件については弊社で対応させていただきます。
_Regarding this matter, our company will handle it._ - この電話はサービス向上のため、録音させていただきます。
_This call will be recorded to help us improve our service._ > "I humbly receive the allowance of doing XYZ" sounds incredibly stilted in English, but this is a super common phrase in Japanese. --- ## 4. Rarer uses of いただく Here are two usages of itadaku that most people won't encounter... but if you're a history buff or a book worm, _you_ might. ### A) The "original" use of itadaku As explained at the beginning of the article, いただく originally meant _placing something on one's head_. It still technically has that meaning, but the only real time you will encounter this usage these days is with crowns, tiaras, or other royal head objects. - 王冠を戴きました。
_He put on the crown._ *(Did you notice that? When used in sentences involving royalty, itadaku's kanji changes from 頂 to 戴.)* ### B) Some metaphors which include itadaku There are some fixed descriptions that feature いただく. As per スーパー大辞林: - 白雪をいただいた山々
_Snow-covered mountains_ - 星をいただいて帰る
_To go home at night_ (literally: to receive the stars and go home) Even here, notice that the nuance sort of fits. Whether we're talking about a starry night or snow-topped mountains, both of those things feature something much higher than the speaker that is bearing down toward them. --- ## Want to learn Japanese for real? The #1 reason that learners fail to learn Japanese is that they spend a lot of time learning _about_ Japanese but very little time actually _in_ Japanese. You would be right to retort that you need to understand Japanese before you can consume media in Japanese, and I would respond with two points: 1. While native speakers know in the ballpark of 25,000 words, [you only need to know ~1,500 words to have an 80% chance of recognizing whatever random word you put your finger on](/blog/japanese/how-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary) 2. What all successful learners have in common is that, inevitably, they spent a lot of time _actually using_ Japanese So, we built a course that puts these ideas at the forefront. A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese Academy, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar Here's what makes the Migaku Japanese Academy so special: - It teaches specifically the 1,500 words you need to follow 80% of Netflix - Words are taught in the context of sentences, and our sentences have been carefully curated such that each one introduces only one new word - Our flashcards are backed by [a spaced-repetition algorithm](/blog/language-fun/spaced-repetition-language-learning), ensuring you eventually remember them So, basically, we spoonfeed you the precise words you need to begin exploring real Japanese media. At a pace of 10 flashcards per day, you'll be ready to begin exploring Netflix in Japanese in about 6 months. _Free for 10 days. No credit card required._ --- ## Nice! You should now know what itadakimasu means. Well, that was quite a ride! You've now seen all of the usages of itadaku that you're likely going to encounter, but if you explore keigo more deeply, you'll stumble into a few additional variations on some of the above phrases and usages. For now, though, we *humbly receive the allowance of* imparting the Golden Rule of Language Learning upon you: > If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_. And there you have it! Great work on reading this far, humbly receiving all that we wrote.