zyuusyo wo seikaku ni kaite kudasai.

Please write your address accurately.

Breakdown of zyuusyo wo seikaku ni kaite kudasai.

• を: direct object particle
• 書かく: to write
• ください: please
• 住所じゅうしょ: address
• 正確せいかく に: precisely

Questions & Answers about zyuusyo wo seikaku ni kaite kudasai.

What does the particle を do in 住所を? Why isn’t it 住所に?

を marks the direct object of the verb – the thing that is being acted on.

• 住所を正確に書いてください。
  → “Please write your address accurately.”
  Here, 住所 is what you are writing, so it takes を.

に after a noun often marks a location, time, or target of an action, not the direct object. For example:

• 紙に住所を書く。 – “Write the address on the paper.”
  Here, 紙に is the place where you write; 住所を is what you write.

So:

• 住所を（書く） = write the address.
• 紙に（書く） = write on the paper.

Using 住所に書く would sound like “write on the address,” which doesn’t make sense in this context.

Why is it 正確に and not just 正確? How does に make it mean “accurately”?

正確 is a na-adjective meaning “accurate / exact.”

• As an adjective before a noun:
  正確な住所 – “an accurate address”

When you want to modify a verb (to say “accurately”), na-adjectives usually add に to become adverbs:

• 正確に書く – “to write accurately”
• 静かに話す – “to speak quietly”
• きれいに書く – “to write neatly / cleanly”

So in the sentence:

• 正確に書いてください。
  正確に is an adverb: “write accurately.”

Compare with i-adjectives, which normally change ～い → ～く for adverbs:

• 速い → 速く走る – “run quickly”
• 正しい → 正しく書く – “write correctly”

What grammar pattern is 書いてください? Is it one word or two words?

書いてください is:

• 書いて – the -て form of the verb 書く (to write)
• ください – a polite request form (from くださる, “to give [to me]”)

Together, ～てください means “please do ~”:

• 読んでください。 – Please read.
• 見てください。 – Please look.
• 書いてください。 – Please write.

In writing, it’s often typed as one block (書いてください), but grammatically it’s 書いて + ください. In speech, it’s clearly two parts.

Note: there is also a kanji form ～て下さい / 下さい, but in modern Japanese, for the request pattern, ください in hiragana is common and safe.

How polite is this sentence? How would I say it more casually or more formally?

住所を正確に書いてください。 is standard polite (丁寧語) and is very common on forms, in instructions, or from staff to customers.

• Casual versions:

  • 住所を正確に書いて。 – A casual request, used with friends/family.
  • 住所ちゃんと書いて。 – More colloquial: “Write your address properly.”

• More formal / businesslike:

  • 住所を正確にご記入ください。 – “Please fill in your address accurately.” (very common on forms)
  • 住所を正確にお書きください。 – Polite and slightly formal.
  • Add a softener at the start:
    お手数ですが、住所を正確にご記入ください。
    “We apologize for the trouble, but please fill in your address accurately.”

An imperative like 住所を正確に書け is very blunt and usually only used in strong commands (e.g., military, harsh teacher, fiction).

Can I change the word order, like 正確に住所を書いてください? Is that still correct?

Yes, that is also correct. Japanese word order is relatively flexible as long as the main verb phrase comes at the end.

All of these are grammatical:

• 住所を正確に書いてください。
• 正確に住所を書いてください。

The basic meaning is the same. Any nuance difference is very slight:

• Starting with 住所を can feel like you’re highlighting what to write (the address, not something else).
• Starting with 正確に can feel like you’re highlighting how to write (accurately, not sloppily).

In everyday use, both sound perfectly natural.

Why is there no subject like あなたは or 私の住所を? How do I know whose address to write?

Japanese often omits the subject and possessives when they’re clear from context.

In a form or instruction like this, the default assumptions are:

• The subject (you) is omitted:
  “(You) please write …”
• The possessor (your address) is also omitted:
  “(Your) address”

So:

• 住所を正確に書いてください。
  is understood as
  “Please write your address accurately.”

Adding あなた or あなたの住所 is possible, but:

• あなた is often avoided; it can sound either too direct or unnatural in many contexts.
• A more natural explicit version would be something like:
  ご住所を正確にご記入ください。 – “Please fill in your address accurately.”
  Here ご住所 politely implies “your address.”

What’s the nuance difference between 正確に and 正しく?

Both can be translated as “correctly,” but the nuance differs a bit:

• 正確に (from 正確な = accurate / exact)

  • Emphasizes precision, exactness, completeness.
  • Good when details matter: postal code, building name, room number, etc.
  • 住所を正確に書いてください。
    → Make sure everything is exact and complete.

• 正しく (from 正しい = correct / right)

  • Emphasizes being right vs. wrong.
  • Good for spelling, grammar, or choosing the right answer:
    • 漢字を正しく書いてください。 – Please write the kanji correctly.

So for addresses, 正確に is especially natural because small mistakes can prevent delivery, whereas 正しく focuses more on not being “wrong.” Both could be understood, but 正確に is the better fit here.

Can 住所 also mean an email address, like “address” in English?

Generally, no. 住所 almost always means a postal / physical address (home address, registered address, mailing address).

For other kinds of “addresses,” Japanese uses different words:

• Email address: メールアドレス
• Web address (URL): URL（ユーアールエル）, sometimes ウェブアドレス
• IP address: IPアドレス

So if you see 住所 on a form, it is asking for your physical address, not your email.

Is ください always attached to a -て form? How is this different from 水をください?

There are two main patterns with ください:

1. Verb -て form + ください → “Please do (verb).”

   • 書いてください。 – Please write.
   • 読んでください。 – Please read.
   • 住所を正確に書いてください。 – Please write your address accurately.

   Here, ください works like “please,” requesting an action.

2. Noun + を + ください → “Please give me (noun).”

   • 水をください。 – Please give me (some) water.
   • 領収書をください。 – Please give me a receipt.

   Here, ください is “please give (to me)” and the noun is what you want.

So:

• 書いてください – “Please write (do this action).”
• 水をください – “Please give me water / water, please.”

Grammatically they both involve くださる (“to give [to me]”), but in practice we treat:

• Verb-て + ください as the “please do ~” pattern, and
• Noun + を + ください as “please give me ~”.

Could I just say 住所を正確に書いて by itself? Would that still sound like a request?

住所を正確に書いて is the -て form without ください, so by itself it’s grammatically incomplete but can be used in certain ways:

• As a casual request/command in speech, especially with the right tone:

  • A teacher to a student, parent to child, close friend:
    住所を正確に書いて。 – “Write your address accurately.”
    (Sounds like a direct command; not very polite.)

• As part of a longer sentence:

  • 住所を正確に書いて、ここに提出してください。
    “Write your address accurately and submit it here.”

For polite instructions (forms, public notices, customer-facing situations), you should keep ください:

• 住所を正確に書いてください。 – This is the natural polite request.