敬語 - When, Where, Who?

敬語 (keigo) is honorific language, but in what situations do you use it and to whom? It's tricky because 敬語 is relative honorific language (it depends on the situation and person you are speaking with) and is thus broken up into three parts: polite & refined language, honorific language, and humble language.

Since 敬語 expressions for the same person can differ based on ウチ (uchi) and ソト (soto) - whether they are "in" your group or "out" of your group - the 敬語 you use will differ based on the relationship between the speaker, the listener, and the person being spoken about.

Factors that determine whether or not to use 敬語 and the appropriate level of 敬語 to use:

Generally speaking, 敬語 is based more on social position and standing than age. Intention is also a large part of the level of 敬語 one uses.

For example, if making a phone call will benefit the person being spoken to, you might use 「お電話差し上げます」 (o-denwa sashiagemasu), but if you, the speaker, would benefit from the call, you would instead express it in a way as though you are receiving permission to make the phone call, 「お電話させていただきます」 (o-denwa sasete itadakimasu). And even if the person being spoken to benefits from the situation, in order to show greater politeness to them you might use 「お電話させていただきます」 (o-denwa sasete itadakimasu) to convey your feelings of humility and to show that you are also benefiting from the situation.

This is why 敬語 can be difficult to master, even for native Japanese speakers. Not only does it need to be grammatically correct, it also involves thinking about how to express yourself towards the other party.

謙譲語 - Humble Keigo

敬語 (けいご・keigo) is respectful speech in Japanese. 敬語 is based in the social hierarchy that has carried over into modern Japanese society from ancient times. There are three forms of 敬語 - teineigo, sonkeigo, and kenjougo.

謙譲語 (けんじょうご・kenjougo) is humble Japanese. This style is used when referring to yourself, or to someone in your inner circle - like your family, your colleagues, etc. This style should be used when you are speaking to someone of higher social rank when describing your actions or the actions of someone in your inner circle. You must never use this style to refer to someone who is not in your inner circle or to refer to the person you are talking to.

Regular Kenjougo Verb Forms

To create the humble form of most verbs, add the prefix お to the stem form of the verb and add する to the end.

Polite Form → Humble Form

待ちます → お待ちします (おまちします)　to wait

教えます → お教えします (おおしえします)　to teach

書きます → お書きします (おかきします)　to write

Irregular Kenjougo Verb Forms

Plain Form → Humble Form

行く (いく)・来る (くる) → 参ります (まいります)　to go/to come

いる → おります　to be

食べる (たべる)・飲む (のむ) → いただきます　to eat/to drink

言う (いう) → ［意見を］申し上げます (［いけんを］もうしあげます)　to say (one's opinion)

言う (いう) → ［名前と］申します (［なまえと］もうします)　to be called (name)

見る (みる) → 拝見します (はいけんします)　to see

する → いたします　to do

知っている (しっている) → ［今日会議があることを］存じております (［きょうかいぎがあることを］ぞんじております)　to know (something)

知っている (しっている) → ［社長を］知っております (［しゃちょうを］しっております)　to know (someone)

あげる → さしあげます　to give

もらいます → いただきます　to receive

思う (おもう) → 存じる (ぞんじる)　to think/to feel

聞く (きく) → 伺う (うかがう)　to ask/to listen

会う (あう) → お目にかかります (おめにかかります)　to meet

読む (よむ) → 拝読します (はいどくします)　to read

～ている → ～ております　Verb -ing (ongoing action, state, repetition)

Other Humble Forms

です → でございます　copula

人 (ひと) → 者 (もの)　person

丁重語 - Courteous Language

In addition to 謙譲語 there is also 丁重語 (ていちょうご・teichougo), or courteous language, which is humble language in which an action or object is not directed toward the listener or a third party, but when you are speaking to someone with whom you wish to be very polite.

Because these phrases are associated with being humble, they are listed above but I am also grouping them here.

おります　to be

参ります (まいります)　to go/to come

いたします　to do

いただきます　to receive/to eat/to drink

申します (もうします)　to say, to be called

存じております (ぞんじております)　to know

Example Sentences

I am Sakura. Normal: さくらです。 謙譲語: さくらと申します。

I read this book. Normal: この本を読みました。 謙譲語: この本を拝読しました。

The train is arriving. Normal: 電車が来ます。 謙譲語: 電車が参ります。

See also: Basic Keigo, Polite Keigo, Honorific Keigo