Polite to Staff
Cultural · Dining
おかわりをいただいてもよろしいですか？ — Would it be alright to have a refill? (Cultural · Dining, Polite to Staff, JLPT N4)
You
おかわりをいただいてもよろしいですか？
おかわりをいただいてもよろしいですか？
Would it be alright to have a refill?
Romaji: Okawari wo itadaite mo yoroshii desu ka? / Reply Romaji: Mochiron desu. Shoushou omachi kudasai.
Reply
もちろんです。少々お待ちください。
もちろんです。しょうしょうおまちください。
Of course! Please wait just a moment.
Gesture & etiquette
Raise your empty bowl or cup slightly toward the server, or make gentle eye contact with a small nod. In casual settings with friends, simply saying 「おかわり！」is natural. In formal restaurant settings, use the full polite form.
Rice refills (ご飯のおかわり) are almost always free at set-meal restaurants; miso soup is often free too. At someone's home, accepting a second helping is a compliment to the host's cooking — repeatedly declining might inadvertently seem rude or ungrateful.