Japanese phrase
___の由来を教えてください。 ___ no yu rai o oshi e te ku da sa i
Meaning
Could you tell me where ___ comes from?
When to use it
Asks politely about the origin of something. It often seeks the background of a word, name, place, or custom and suits polite conversations.
Example dialogue
この言葉の由来を教えてください。 ko no koto ba no yu rai o oshi e te ku da sa i
Could you tell me where this word comes from?
昔の表現から来ています。 mukashi no hyō gen ka ra ki te i ma su
It comes from an old expression.