Question
Next month I’m flying to our Tokyo branch to meet a client I’ve been emailing for almost a year. My colleagues told me to greet them with “osewa ni narimasu” when I walk in, but in their emails I keep seeing “osewa ni natte orimasu.” Which one do I actually say in person? How do I use osewa ni narimasu 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.
Great that you’re already paying attention to this — it trips up almost every business learner. For a client you’ve been working with for a year, you want osewa ni natte orimasu, not osewa ni narimasu. The natte orimasu version is the one you’ll hear in almost every business email, phone call, and in-person greeting once a relationship is already going. It’s softer and more polished, and it signals that the care has been ongoing — not a one-time thing.
Save the simpler form for genuinely first contact:
お世話（せわ）になります。
Osewa ni narimasu.
Thank you in advance for your support.
That one is for an opening email to a brand-new vendor, or the first line when meeting a prospect you’ve never dealt with before. From the second exchange onward, switch to natte orimasu and stay there for the whole relationship. When you walk into that Tokyo meeting next month, lead with osewa ni natte orimasu — your client will hear it as the right kind of polished.
