Japanese

Alternative forms

• お世話 ‎(おせわ, osewa), 御世話 ‎(おせわ, osewa)

Noun

世話 ‎(hiragana せわ, romaji sewa)

1. care, looking after, help, favor

   お世話 (せわ)になりました。

   Osewa ni narimashita.

   Literally, “I have been taken care of.” → “Thank you very much for everything.” / “I'm very obliged to you (for what you've done).”

Usage notes

Takes the formal prefix お ‎(o-) when talking to someone outside the group (which could be anyone else when the “group” is just oneself) about a favor done for someone inside the group.

Idioms

• 世話 (せわ)をする ‎(sewa o suru): to take care of, to do a favor
• 世話 (せわ)になる ‎(sewa ni naru): to receive a favor, to be obliged or indebted to someone (for taking care of something)
• お世話 (せわ)になる ‎(osewa ni naru)

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3