interjection N4 common casualpolite
〜てね — (do) ~, okay? (soft request / reminder)
〜てね ・ てね
Builds on て形
Meaning
- (do) ~, okay? / be sure to ~ — a gentle request or friendly reminder, the て-form request softened by ね
てね is the て-form request (〜て) with ね tacked on to seek the listener's buy-in: it turns a bare command into a warm 'do ~, alright?'. It's caring and casual — common to children, friends, or in goodbyes (気をつけてね). 〜てね softens; 〜てよ instead pushes or complains. The polite version is 〜てくださいね.
Key sentence
気をつけて帰ってね。
Get home safe, okay?
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb て-form (+ ね); negative 〜ないでね | Vて + ね / Vないで + ね | 待っててね / 忘れないでね |
Examples
また連絡してね。
Get in touch again, okay?
宿題、ちゃんとやってね。
Be sure to do your homework, alright?
あまり無理しないでね。
Don't overdo it, okay?
Easily confused with
〜てください てください is a straightforward polite request; てね is softer and more personal — a friendly nudge rather than an instruction (politely combined as 〜てくださいね). ね ね on a statement seeks agreement ('~, right?'); on a て-form request (てね) it softens the request into 'do ~, okay?' — same particle, request-softening job.
Notes
- 〜てよ is the pushier sibling (早くしてよ, 'come on, hurry up'); 〜てね stays gentle. After ている, casual speech doubles the て: 待っててね ('wait for me, okay').
See 〜てね in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜てね the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in Jengo