Why does this text use both 下さい and ください in the same context?


After a trip to Japan, I got a slip stapled to my passport, the first bullet
point of which reads:

> 活字体で記入して **下さい** 。黒色又は青色のペンで記入して **ください** 。
>
> "Please type or print clearly. Write by using black or blue pen."

I **have already read through** [this question on using 下さい vs
ください](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/110/3035), but the answers
emphasize using the two as differences between objects/actions, て-form/other
forms, and personal preference. Here, these are both actions, both て-forms,
and both written on the same sheet, so personal preference is not a factor.

Given the English translation above (provided on the same stapled slip), I
speculate that it might be a politeness indicator, more of a soft request to
print neatly, whereas the second request is more firm and required. (But
that's just a guess of my own.)

What is the purpose for using the kanji and non-kanji forms of ください in this
sentence, given that they both follow 「～で記入して」?




I think many people use the two forms freely without a difference in meaning,
and I think your sentence is actually a good illustration that this is true. I
don't think there's any detectable difference in meaning between 記入してください and
記入して下さい in your example. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if whoever wrote it
didn't even notice they were writing it two different ways!

Although both forms are widely used, writing it in kana is more common. If I
search the [_Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese
(BCCWJ)_](http://www.kotonoha.gr.jp/shonagon/search_form), I find the
following:

[code]

      してください    10072 results　←　4x more common
      して下さい　    2408 results
    
[/code]

Of course, I haven't looked through all of these results to find out how
they're used, so take the numbers with a grain of salt, but I think most of
the results are probably applicable here.




I think many people use the two forms freely without a difference in meaning,
and I think your sentence is actually a good illustration that this is true. I
don't think there's any detectable difference in meaning between 記入してください and
記入して下さい in your example. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if whoever wrote it
didn't even notice they were writing it two different ways!

Although both forms are widely used, writing it in kana is more common. If I
search the [_Balanced Corpus of Contemporary Written Japanese
(BCCWJ)_](http://www.kotonoha.gr.jp/shonagon/search_form), I find the
following:

[code]

      してください    10072 results　←　4x more common
      して下さい　    2408 results
    
[/code]

Of course, I haven't looked through all of these results to find out how
they're used, so take the numbers with a grain of salt, but I think most of
the results are probably applicable here.

