Quote:
Originally Posted by Decimus
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...9D&btnG=Search
Yes, it is a polite way of saying "good night", and while it is neither an order nor a request, it is still, technically, in the "imperative mood".
Of course, I'm splitting hairs at this point, and this argument is no doubt detrimental to the OP's understanding (and hence should be ignored by the him) but I would like to reiterate that robhol was technically correct.
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I am not sure what we are arguing about. My statement simply was that you cannot construct an imperative form （なさい） and put お at the beginning of the verb and sound natural. So if you wanted to use 休む in the imperative form （なさい） you would write it 休みなさい not おやすみなさい。just like you would not say お行きなさい お飲みなさい、お運びなさい。I mean, i can confirm this with japanese friends to be sure, and if I am wrong i am wrong, but my feeling is that polite お and imperative -なさい do not mix.