ぜひ details
write + (and…) + by all means
zehi kaite kudasai
by all means; do — the speaker presses a wish or an invitation instead of merely stating it
meaning: by all means write
近くに来た時は、ぜひ寄ってください。
chikaku ni kita toki wa, zehi yotte kudasai.
When you are in the area, by all means drop by. neutral
あの店、ぜひ一度行ってみたい。
ano mise, zehi ichido itte mitai.
I really want to try that place once. casual
- alternant
Examples
by all means — an invitation, a request, or a wish the speaker presents as worth acting on
近くに来た時は、ぜひ寄ってください。
chikaku ni kita toki wa, zehiyottekudasai.
When you are in the area, by all means drop by. neutral
あの店、ぜひ一度行ってみたい。
ano mise, zehi ichido itte mitai.
I really want to try that place once. casual
この本は、ぜひ若い人に読んでほしい。
kono hon wa, zehi wakai hito ni yonde hoshii.
I really want young people to read this book. neutral
次の機会には、ぜひとも一度お目にかかりたいと存じます。
tsugi no kikai ni wa, zehitomo ichido ome ni kakaritai to zonjimasu.
I very much hope to meet you in person on the next occasion. formal
Formation
ぜひ{V-te}くださいattaches to て-formぜひ{V-masu-stem}たいattaches to ます-stemぜひ{V-te}ほしいattaches to て-form
Variant notes
- ぜひとも — the emphatic shape, at home in formal appeals and business writing — ぜひとも実現させたい。
Related patterns
Similar
Both press a request, and they differ in whose interest is at stake — ぜひ says the act would be good for the listener and belongs to invitations, どうか says the speaker is at the listener's mercy and belongs to apologies and pleas.
ぜひ presses a request the listener would be glad to take up; なんとか presses one the listener would rather refuse, so it asks for effort instead of enthusiasm — an invitation takes ぜひお越しください, never ×なんとかお越しください.
Combines with
ください alone can be a flat instruction; ぜひ marks the act as one worth doing, so it sits badly on a request the listener can only experience as a burden — ×ぜひ残業してください.
〜たい states a wish; ぜひ raises it from a mood to something the speaker means to act on, which is why ぜひ〜たいです accepts an invitation where a bare 〜たいです only reports how the speaker feels.