Question
I share a small apartment in Tokyo with my Japanese partner, and I work from home most afternoons. When he watches baseball in the living room, the TV is loud enough that I can hear it through the wall during my client calls. I want to ask him to lower it without sounding cold. How do I say “Could you turn down the volume?” in Japanese?
Answer by Professional Japanese Teacher
音少し下げてもらえる？
Oto sukoshi sagete moraeru?
Could you turn it down a little?
This is the casual phrasing you’d use with a partner or family at home: warm, not cold. Oto means “sound,” and the little word sukoshi (“a little”) does a lot of softening work; dropping it makes the request feel sharp. Sagete moraeru? comes from sageru (to lower) and is a friendly way of asking “could you do this for me?” with a rising tone at the end.
For a politer version — say, with a flatmate you don’t know well — try:
音量を下げてもらえますか。
Onryou o sagete moraemasu ka.
Could you turn the volume down?
Oto is the sound itself; onryou is the volume level on the dial. At home oto sounds natural, while onryou fits offices and hotels.