Part 5 · Judgement and nuance · Lesson 53
Polite language: keigo
Respectful and humble speech, explained as a system: honorific forms for others' actions, humble forms for your own, the special verbs worth learning, and how to recognise them in anime, drama and customer service.
Japanese has three levels of politeness, and you can see them in the verbs. The levels aren't ranks of formality only; they express who is above whom.
| Level | Used for | Example (to eat) |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | friends, family, yourself | 食べる |
| Polite (ます) | strangers, colleagues | 食べます |
| Honorific / humble | customers, bosses, formal | 召し上がる / いただく |
You already know plain and polite. This lesson is the third level: keigo (敬語).
Two directions
Keigo has two directions, and which one you use depends on whose action it is.
- Honorific (尊敬語): raise the other person by describing their action in a respectful way.
- Humble (謙譲語): lower yourself by describing your own action in a modest way.
Never use humble forms for someone else's action, or honorific forms for your own.
Honorific patterns
お〜になる
お + polite stem + になる raises the other person's action.
| Plain | Honorific |
|---|---|
| 読む | お読みになる |
| 書く | お書きになる |
| 待つ | お待ちになる |
For する-verbs: ご + noun + になる (ご利用になる, ご覧になる).
れる/られる
The passive form can be used honorifically. It's a quick, light way to be polite.
Special verbs
Many common verbs have their own honorific and humble forms. These are worth learning because they're everywhere.
| Plain | Honorific | Humble |
|---|---|---|
| する | なさる | いたす |
| 行く | いらっしゃる | 参る / 伺う |
| 来る | いらっしゃる / お見えになる | 参る |
| いる | いらっしゃる | おる |
| 言う | おっしゃる | 申す / 申し上げる |
| 食べる / 飲む | 召し上がる | いただく |
| 見る | ご覧になる | 拝見する |
| 知っている | ご存じ | 存じている |
| くれる | くださる | |
| あげる | さしあげる | |
| もらう | いただく | |
| 会う | お目にかかる | |
| 聞く | 伺う |
Humble patterns
お〜する / お〜いたす
お + polite stem + する presents your action as a service to the other person.
いただく / くださる
〜ていただく (humble, receive a favour) and 〜てくださる (honorific, they give a favour) are polite versions of 〜てもらう / 〜てくれる.
ございます
ございます is the polite form of ある, and でございます of です, used in shops and announcements.
Why you need to know it
You do not need to speak keigo at the start. But you'll hear it constantly: shops, trains, announcements, anime with butlers or noble families, formal dramas, and business. You need to recognise it so that you do not get confused when 食べる becomes 召し上がる and 来る becomes いらっしゃる.
When you hear the honorific verbs, ask: whose action is this? If it's the other person's, it's honorific. If it's the speaker's own, it's humble.
Longer sentences
A short shop scene with the customer being honoured and the staff being humble.
A formal email in full
Key points
- Honorific (尊敬語) elevates the other person's actions; humble (謙譲語) lowers your own.
- Patterns: お〜になる (honorific), お〜する (humble).
- Learn the special verbs: いらっしゃる, おっしゃる, 召し上がる, いただく, 申す, 伺う, くださる.
- ございます is polite ある; でございます is polite です.
Drill these patterns
Short example sentences for the points in this lesson: