Formal to Host
Cultural · Traditional · Arts
お点前ちょうだいいたします。 — I gratefully receive your tea preparation. (Said before drinking at a tea ceremony.) (Cultural · Traditional · Arts, Formal to Host, JLPT N3)
You
お点前ちょうだいいたします。
おてまえちょうだいいたします。
I gratefully receive your tea preparation. (Said before drinking at a tea ceremony.)
Romaji: Otemaechoudai itashimasu. / Reply Romaji: (Host: nods in acknowledgment, no verbal reply required)
Reply
（亭主は会釈で応じる、言葉は不要）
（ていしゅはえしゃくでこたえる、ことばはふよう）
(The host acknowledges with a nod — no verbal response is needed)
Gesture & etiquette
Accept the bowl with both hands, bow slightly, then rotate it clockwise 2-3 times before drinking. This rotation prevents drinking from the 'front' of the bowl, showing respect for its decoration. Drink in 3-4 sips, not one continuous drink.
This formal phrase acknowledges the host's labor (点前, temae — the art of tea preparation) before drinking. In the tea ceremony (茶道), silence and deliberate action are paramount. The guest bows, rotates the bowl clockwise twice, drinks in three sips, then wipes the rim.