Formal to Client
Cultural · Seasonal
本年も大変お世話になりました。心ばかりではございますが、お歳暮の品をお送りいたしました。 — Thank you very much for everything this year. It's a token gesture, but I've sent an oseibo gift. (Cultural · Seasonal, Formal to Client, JLPT N3)
You
本年も大変お世話になりました。心ばかりではございますが、お歳暮の品をお送りいたしました。
ほんねんもたいへんおせわになりました。こころばかりではございますが、おせいぼのしなをおおくりいたしました。
Thank you very much for everything this year. It's a token gesture, but I've sent an oseibo gift.
Romaji: Honnen mo taihen osewa ni narimashita. Kokoro bakari de wa gozaimasu ga, oseibo no shina o ookuri itashimashita. / Reply Romaji: Goteinei na okokorozukai ni arigatou gozaimasu. Arigataku choudai itashimasu.
Reply
ご丁寧なお心遣いにありがとうございます。ありがたく頂戴いたします。
ごていねいなおこころづかいにありがとうございます。ありがたくちょうだいいたします。
Thank you for your thoughtful kindness. I'll gratefully accept it.
Gesture & etiquette
Email or written card accompanying the gift. Send through department store gift center, never directly. Wrapping with the noshi (formal label) indicating 'oseibo.' Follow up with a thank-you call after a few days. Match or slightly elevate the gift value of what they sent you last year.
Oseibo is the year-end gift season (sent early to mid-December) to clients, superiors, and supporters — the winter counterpart to ochuugen. Common gifts: high-quality food (mochi, sake, seafood, fruits), with formal noshi paper indicating 'oseibo.' 'Kokoro bakari' (just a token / 'only my heart') is the humble framing. Send through department stores to ensure proper formal presentation.