Formal to Superior
Workplace · Meeting
少し確認させていただいてもよろしいでしょうか。 — Would it be alright if I confirmed something briefly? (Workplace · Meeting, Formal to Superior, JLPT N2)
You
少し確認させていただいてもよろしいでしょうか。
すこしかくにんさせていただいてもよろしいでしょうか。
Would it be alright if I confirmed something briefly?
Romaji: Sukoshi kakunin sasete itadaite mo yoroshii deshou ka. / Reply Romaji: Douzo.
Reply
どうぞ。
どうぞ。
Please go ahead.
Gesture & etiquette
Make brief eye contact with the speaker and raise your hand slightly or give a small nod to signal you want to speak. Once given the floor, bow your head slightly in thanks before asking. Keep your question concise — long tangential questions are frowned upon in Japanese meetings.
Japanese meetings often proceed without questions because of 空気を読む (reading the atmosphere). This phrase is the face-saving way to raise a question — framing it as 'confirming' rather than 'not understanding' avoids implying the speaker was unclear, which could be rude.