Question
Next month I’m flying to our Tokyo branch to finally meet a client I’ve been emailing back and forth with for almost a year. We already have an ongoing relationship — purchase orders, monthly calls, the works. My colleagues told me to greet them with osewa ni narimasu when I walk in, but I’ve also seen osewa ni natte orimasu in their emails. Which one do I actually say in person, and how do I use お世話（せわ）になります correctly?
Answer by Professional Japanese Teacher
お世話（せわ）になっております。
Osewa ni natte orimasu.
Thank you for your continued support. / Thanks for the ongoing relationship.
For an existing client you’ve been working with, the correct greeting is お世話（せわ）になっております — not お世話（せわ）になります. In real business Japanese, the なっております form is the dominant one, used in well over 90% of emails, phone calls, and in-person greetings with people you already know. The simpler お世話（せわ）になります is reserved for the very first contact — your opening email to a new vendor, a cold-call introduction, the first line when you meet a prospect you’ve never dealt with before. Once the relationship is established, every subsequent message switches to なっております. The おる is the humble form of いる, which lowers your own side and adds the polish business Japanese expects. The て-form なって plus おります signals an ongoing state — care that you’ve been receiving and are still receiving, not a one-time event.
Word-by-word breakdown
- お — honorific prefix softening the noun that follows.
- 世話（せわ） — care, looking-after, support in day-to-day matters.
- に — particle marking what the なる action is directed toward.
- なって — て-form of なる (to become / come into a state).
- おります — humble form of います, marking an ongoing state and lowering the speaker’s side.
A practical rule that always works: first contact uses お世話（せわ）になります (“Osewa ni narimasu. ABC社のスミスです” in your opening email or call). From the second message onward — emails, phone calls, office visits — switch to お世話（せわ）になっております and stay there for the entire relationship. Same rule in writing and in speech.
