Learn Hardcore Japanese: zyousi ha buka ni, mazu yukkuri hanasu you ni itte kuremasita. - My boss kindly told his subordinate to speak slowly at first.

Using 上司は tells the listener that the rest of the sentence is information about the boss. The actual action is shown later with 言ってくれました (“(he/she) told (us)”), and we understand that it’s the boss who did that action because of the topic 上司は.

What does 部下に mean, and why do we use に here?

部下 = “subordinate(s)” (people below you in the workplace hierarchy).
に here marks the person to whom something is said.

So 部下に means “to (his/her) subordinates.”
In Japanese, verbs of giving, saying, teaching, etc. often use に to mark the recipient:

子どもに言う – to say to the child
友だちに教える – to teach a friend
部下に言う – to tell a subordinate

Does 部下に mean “to me (as a subordinate)”, or “to (some) subordinates in general”?

It can be either, depending on context.

If the speaker is one of the subordinates, then 部下に usually includes the speaker:
“(My) boss said to (us) subordinates…”
If the speaker is not a subordinate, it means “(The) boss said to (his/her) subordinates…”

Japanese often doesn’t explicitly say “me” or “us” when it’s obvious from the situation. The use of くれました (a “for me/us” verb) strongly suggests that the speaker was one of the people who benefitted from what the boss said, so in many contexts it will be understood as “to us (subordinates).”

What is the role of まず here? Could I move it somewhere else?

まず means “first (of all)” or “to begin with.”
It modifies the whole action ゆっくり話すように言ってくれました, indicating that this should be done first, before other things.

The current position:

部下に、まずゆっくり話すように言ってくれました。
“(He/she) first told the subordinates to speak slowly.”

You could move it slightly, for example:

部下に、ゆっくり話すようにまず言ってくれました。

This is still understandable, but the most natural and common position is exactly as in the original: directly before what it qualifies, ゆっくり話す (“speak slowly”). The original word order is the most natural.

Why is there no particle after ゆっくり? Should it be ゆっくりと?

ゆっくり is an adverb here, meaning “slowly,” so it doesn’t need a particle. It directly modifies the verb 話す (“to speak”), just like English “slowly” in “speak slowly.”

You can say ゆっくりと話す, and that is also correct Japanese.
ゆっくり話す and ゆっくりと話す have almost the same meaning; ゆっくりと can sound slightly more formal or deliberate, but in everyday speech ゆっくり without と is very common and perfectly natural.

Why is it 話すように and not 話して or 話してください?

Because the pattern here is 「～ように言う」, which means “to tell (someone) to do ~.”

話すように言う – to tell (someone) to speak
ゆっくり話すように言う – to tell (someone) to speak slowly

If you said:

ゆっくり話してください – “Please speak slowly.” (direct command/polite request)
ゆっくり話して – “Speak slowly.” (casual request/command)

Those are what the boss might actually say to the subordinates.
But when you report that instruction, Japanese usually uses the structure:

[plain form verb] + ように言う = tell (someone) to [verb]

So for reported speech, 話すように言った / 言ってくれました is the standard pattern.

What exactly does 話すように mean grammatically?

It’s verb (plain form) + ように, a common grammar pattern. Here it has the nuance “in such a way that (someone) speaks” or more naturally “to (have someone) speak.”

Some common uses:

V-plain + ように言う – tell (someone) to do V
- 静かにするように言う – tell (them) to be quiet
V-plain + ようにする – make an effort to do V / try to do V
- 早く起きるようにする – I’ll try to get up early

In this sentence, ゆっくり話すように is “(so that they) speak slowly / to speak slowly,” and together with 言う it becomes “to tell (them) to speak slowly.”

What does the second に (in ように言って) do?

Here the に is part of the fixed pattern 「V-plain + ように + 言う」.

You can think of it like this:

話すように – “in such a way that (they) speak / to speak”
言う – “to say / to tell”

So together: 話すように言う – “to say (it) in such a way that they will speak” → “to tell (them) to speak.”

The に belongs to ように, not to 言う directly.
Without に, よう doesn’t function correctly in this grammar pattern (✗ 話すよう言う is wrong or at least very unnatural in standard Japanese).

What does 言ってくれました literally mean?

Break it down:

言って – the て-form of 言う (“to say / to tell”)
くれました – past polite form of くれる, which means “to give (to me/us)” or “to do (something) for me/us”

The structure Vて + くれる means:

“(someone) does V for me/us (as a favor, to my benefit)”

So 言ってくれました literally means:

“(He/she) said (it) for me/us”
“(He/she) did the favor of telling (us).”

In natural English we’d just say “(He/she) told (us)” and the idea of “for our benefit / kindly” is expressed by tone or context, but Japanese explicitly marks that with くれる.

Why use 言ってくれました instead of just 言いました?

言いました is neutral: just “(he/she) said / told (us).”

言ってくれました adds the nuance that this was:

to the speaker’s benefit, and
usually perceived as kind, helpful, or considerate.

So:

上司は部下に…言いました。
– “The boss told the subordinates…” (simple fact)
上司は部下に…言ってくれました。
– “The boss (kindly) told us subordinates…”
(implies the speaker appreciates what the boss did)

This “benefit to me/us” nuance is very common in everyday Japanese and often doesn’t translate directly into English words.

Is it okay to use くれる / くれました when talking about my boss? Isn’t that too casual or disrespectful?

Using くれる for a superior is not inherently disrespectful. It simply means that you / your in-group are the receivers of the favor.

However, when you want to be especially polite or use formal honorific language, you often switch to the honorific verb くださる:

言ってくださいました – honorific form (very polite)
言ってくれました – polite but neutral

In everyday conversation, many Japanese speakers naturally say things like:

部長が教えてくれました。 – “My section chief taught me (that).”

This is normal. In a very formal written report or when speaking extra politely, 教えてくださいました or another respectful phrasing would be preferred.

Could we say 上司が instead of 上司は? What would change?

Yes, you can say 上司が部下に…言ってくれました, and it’s grammatically correct, but the nuance changes:

上司は… – topic: “As for (my/the) boss…”
Used when the boss is already known in the conversation, and you’re giving information about what the boss did. It feels more like background storytelling.
上司が… – subject: “It was the boss who…”
This can emphasize that the boss (rather than someone else) did the action, or introduce the boss as new information.

In many contexts, 上司は sounds more natural here, assuming you and the listener already know who the boss is.

Is 部下 singular or plural in this sentence?

Japanese nouns usually do not mark number, so 部下 can mean:

“a subordinate”
“the subordinate”
“subordinates”

Context tells you which is intended.
Here, because there is no counter word like 一人の部下 (“one subordinate”) and because bosses typically have multiple subordinates, 部下 is most naturally understood as plural: “subordinates” / “(my) staff.” But grammatically, the sentence itself doesn’t force singular or plural.