~させてください

JLPT N4: ～させてください (please let me...)

You may recall the ～させる marathon we went through a while back:

- JLPT N4: ～させる (let)
- JLPT N4: ～させる (make to do)
- JLPT N4: ～させる (induce to)
- JLPT N3: ～させる (cause)
- JLPT N2: ～させる (ended up making)
- JLPT N4: ～させられる ([causative passive])

I'm afraid we're not done yet. We still need to have our lessons on using ～させる to make requests.

We'll start with ～させてください, "please let me..."

Do you remember how to conjugate verbs into their ～させる form?

Here we have a godan verb, so we do this:

働く（はたらく // to work）
↓　↓　↓
働かせる（はたらかせる // to make/let [someone] work）
↓　↓　↓
働かせて（はたらかせて // to make/let [someone] work [and]）
↓　↓　↓
働かせてください（はたらかせてください // please let [me] work）

If you've forgotten the conjugation rules, you should review this lesson: JLPT N4: ～させる (let).

If you've forgotten all about ～てください, then go back to this lesson: JLPT N5: ～てください.

Let's keep at it...

Note that other て-form requests can be used in place of ～させてください, such as ～させてくれませんか or the highly formal ～させてくださいませんか. It's also possible to say ～させてもらえませんか.

We'll have a couple of N3 lessons on these topics soon. Here's one example in the meantime:

🐶 Bonus Japanese 🐶

The verb 任せる (まかせる // to entrust [e.g. a task] to another; to leave [something] to [someone]) has always confused me.

At first glance, it appears to be in the ～させる form. However, you're unlikely to ever see ▽任く (まく) (note the irregular kanji reading), although this is technically a verb meaning something like "to appoint (someone) (to a job)."

任す (まかす), on the other hand, is a verb that you probably will come across at some point... and it means the same thing as 任せる (まかせる).

I used to always mix up who was helping who when 任せる was used. Maybe these examples will help...