Politeness: 尊敬語 and 謙譲語
Japanese politeness has three levels, and confusing them is the most visible mistake a competent foreigner makes. Plain (飲む) for close company; polite ます (飲みます) for normal dealings; and keigo, which splits in two. The respectful (尊敬語) raises the other person: いらっしゃる for 行く・来る・いる, 召し上がる for 食べる, ご覧になる for 見る. The humble (謙譲語) lowers you so as to raise the other by contrast: 参る, いただく, 拝見する, 申す. The rule that avoids embarrassment: never use the respectful for what you do, nor the humble for what the customer does. And there is a general route when the special word escapes you: お + stem + になる to raise, お + stem + する to lower yourself.
Where this sits
- Comes after
- Dictionary form and plain style
Exercises from this rung
Generated by the app, from easiest to hardest
私が明日そちらへ___。
- 参ります
- おいでになります
- いらっしゃいます
- 行かれます
Why 参る is the humble form of 行く and 来る, used only for what I do. Using いらっしゃる about oneself is the most visible keigo mistake a competent foreigner can make.
easierどうぞ___ください。
- 召し上がって
- お食べして
- いただいて
- 食べられて
Why 召し上がる raises the other; いただく lowers you and is what you say before eating yourself. This pair shows the whole system: every everyday verb has an upward and a downward version.
in between資料を___しました。
- 見られ
- ご覧に
- お見に
- 拝見
Why 拝見する is the humble form of 見る, for what I look at. ご覧になる is the respectful one, for what the other looks at: 資料をご覧になりましたか. Swapping them reverses who is respecting whom.
harder