お大事に

When to use it

To someone who is ill, injured, or has just told you they have a cold; what the pharmacist and the doctor say as you leave; also to someone whose family member is sick (お母様、お大事に). Full form: お大事になさってください. Casual: お大事に / お大事にね. The reply is ありがとうございます.

大事（だいじ）means important, precious: 大事な人, 大事にする (to treasure). The phrase is short for ‘please treat your body as something precious’.

Examples

• 風邪ですか。お大事に。（かぜ です か。おだいじ に）— A cold? Get well soon.
• お大事になさってください。（おだいじ に なさって ください）— Please take care of yourself. (pharmacy, doctor)
• 無理しないで、お大事にね。（むり しないで、おだいじ に ね）— Don’t push yourself, get better soon.

Traps for Spanish, English and French speakers

• English ‘take care’ closes any conversation, so English speakers use お大事に as a goodbye. お大事に presupposes illness: to a healthy colleague it says ‘you look unwell’. The neutral parting wish is 気をつけて or お元気で.
• Spanish ‘cuídate’ and French ‘prends soin de toi’ cover both the sick friend and the healthy one. Split them: sick → お大事に; healthy and leaving → 気をつけて or お元気で; someone’s health over the long term → お体に気をつけて.
• Look-alikes: 大事（だいじ, important）and 大丈夫（だいじょうぶ, fine）share their first kanji and their first two syllables. Learners write お大丈夫に or say だいじょうぶに. 大事 = 大 + 事; 大丈夫 = 大 + 丈 + 夫.
• 大事 has a second reading, おおごと, ‘a serious matter’ (大事になる = to turn into a big deal). In お大事に it is always だいじ.