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

尊敬語 - Honorific 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.

尊敬語 (そんけいご・sonkeigo) is honorific Japanese. This style is used to show respect to someone of a higher position (a superior, an elder, a customer, etc.) when speaking about them. You must never use this form to refer to yourself. This form is characterized by lengthy polite sentences and common verbs are exchanged for more polite ones or changed into a respectful form.

Regular Sonkeigo Verb Forms

To create the honorific form of most verbs, add the prefix お to the stem form of the verb and add になる to the end.

Polite Form → Honorific Form

読みます → お読みになります (およみになります)　to read

待ちます → お待ちになります (おまちになります)　to wait

教えます → お教えになります (おおしえになります)　to teach

書きます → お書きになります (おかきになります)　to write

思います → お思いになります (おおもいになります)　to think

Irregular Sonkeigo Verb Forms

Plain Form → Honorific Form

行く (いく)・来る (くる) → いらっしゃいます/おいでになります　to go/to come

いる → いらっしゃいます/おいでになります　to be

食べる (たべる)・飲む (のむ) → 召し上がります (めしあがります)　to eat/to drink

寝る (ねる) → お休みになります (おやすみになります)　to sleep

言う (いう) → 仰る (おっしゃいます)　to say

見る (みる) → ご覧になります (ごらんになります)　to see

着る (きる) → お召しになります (おめしになります)　to wear

する → なさいます　to do

知っている (しっている) → ご存知です (ごぞんじです)　to know

くれる → くださいます　to receive

座る (すわる) → お掛けになります (おかけになります)　to sit/to be seated

Other Honorific Forms

です → でいらっしゃる　copula

家 (いえ) → 御宅 (おたく)　home

どう → いかが　how

Example Sentences

Excuse me, is Professor Tanaka here? Normal: すみません、田中先生はいますか。 尊敬語: すみません、田中先生はいらっしゃいますか。

How was the interview? Normal: 面接はどうでしたか。 尊敬語: 面接はいかがでしたか。

How are you? Normal: 元気ですか。 尊敬語: お元気ですか。

See also: Basic Keigo, Polite Keigo

丁寧語 - Polite 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.

丁寧語 (ていねいご・teineigo) is polite Japanese. This is the simplest form of 敬語, using regular grammar and with a structure similar to casual speech. Thus, this is the form of 敬語 first taught to Japanese language learners. This means using the です and ～ます forms rather than the dictionary forms.

です comes after nouns, adjectives, and adverbs at the end of a sentence.

ます is added to the stem of verbs.

Casual vs. Polite

ます系　ます form

Casual → Polite

する → します　to do

行く (いく) → 行きます (いきます)　to go

言う (いう) → 言います (いいます)　to say

です系　copula です

Casual → Polite

本だ (ほんだ) → 本です (ほんです)　(it is) a book

猫だった (ねこだった) → 猫でした (ねこでした)　(it was) a cat

暑い (あつい) → 暑いです (あついです)　it is hot

Example Sentences

I am going to buy a book. Casual: 本を買いに行く。 (ほん を かい に いく) 丁寧語: 本を買いに行きます。 (ほん を かい に いきます)

The mobile phone is broken. Casual: 携帯が壊れた。 (けいたい が こわれた) 丁寧語: 携帯が壊れました。 (けいたい が こわれました)

What is this? Casual: これは何だ？ (これ は なん だ) 丁寧語: こちらは何ですか？ (こちら は なん です か)

See also: Basic Keigo

敬語 - Basic Keigo

An introduction to respectful speech (keigo) in Japanese

敬語 (けいご) is respectful speech in Japanese. 敬語 is based in the social hierarchy that has carried over into modern Japanese society from ancient times. A good general rule is to be more polite rather than less polite when speaking to people you do not know well, especially those of a higher rank or those who are older than you.

Some Japanese words can be substituted with a more respectful version. This is called 改まった (あらたまった)

明日 (あした) → 明日 (あす)

人 (ひと) → 方 (かた)

Honorific prefixes お or ご can be added to certain nouns and verbs.

お-　honorific title used on words of typically Japanese origin or other titles

茶 (ちゃ) → お茶 (おちゃ)

ご-　honorific title used on words of typically foreign origin (e.g. Chinese)

家族 (かぞく) → ご家族 (ごかぞく)

Honorifics after names is also part of 敬語.

さん → 様 (さま)

敬語 is divided into three groups:

1. Polite 丁寧語 (ていねいご)

A polite level of Japanese. What you learn in beginning Japanese.

です／～ます

お and ご honorific prefixes

2. Honorific 尊敬語 (そんけいご)

Direct expression of respect. Describes the actions of the listener and raises the listener's position with respect to the speaker.

お～ and ご～ Verb stem ～になります (verb structure)

Special verbs such as いらっしゃいます

3. Humble 謙譲語 (けんじょうご)

Indirect expression of respect. Describes the actions of the speaker and humbles the speaker's position with respect to the listener.

お～ and ご～ Verb stem ～します (verb structure)

Special verbs such as おります

Japanese Phrases for Restaurants

Restaurants in Japan can be intimidating if you are unsure of your Japanese ability or how to navigate them. Here are some easy phrases to help you navigate common situations. (For more restaurant vocabulary & phrases, check my post HERE).

1. すみません　sumimasen　Excuse me

Usually wait staff will greet you at the entrance and guide you to a table, but if no one is there, you don't have to stand and wait forever. Using sumimasen will help to get their attention politely.

You can also use this to get the wait staff's attention. Raising your hand and calling out sumimasen will let them know you'd like them to come over.

If you don't understand something they are saying, you can also use this phrase as a question: sumimasen? They will repeat what they said or try to communicate it differently for you.

2. 二人です　ふたりです　futari desu　For two

This phrase tells the staff that you have two people in your party. Usually they will ask you before seating you (何名様ですか？ nan mei sama desu ka?) and you can use your fingers to indicate, or say one of the following:

3. おすすめは何ですか？　おすすめはなんですか？　osusume wa nan desu ka?　What do you recommend?

Use this to get suggestions from the staff, especially if you are overwhelmed by the menu.

4. これは何ですか？　これはなんですか？　kore wa nan desu ka?　What is this?

If you don't know what something is, ask! It beats trying to figure it out on your own as you get hungrier and hungrier.

5. これ、お願いします　これ、おねがいします　kore, onegai shimasu　This one, please

Use this to point to something you would like, such as a photo or sample. You can also use これください (kore kudasai) which has the same meaning.

6. ベジタリアンメニューはありますか？　Bejitarian menyu wa arimasu ka?　Do you have a vegetarian menu?

You can use ～はありますか？ (～ wa arimasu ka) to ask for various things.

7. たまごぬき、できますか？　tamago nuki, dekimasu ka?　Can you make it without egg?

If you have food restrictions, you can ask for menu items without certain ingredients by using ～ぬき、できますか？ (～ nuki, dekimasu ka?). In my experience, often smaller restaurants won't let you change the ingredients, but you can always ask. If they can't make it without something, you can ask if they have a menu item without the ingredient by using ～ぬきのメニューはありますか？ (～ nuki no menyu wa arimasu ka?) or "Do you have anything without ～?"

If you'd like to explain that you can't eat a particular ingredient, you can say ～が食べれません (～ ga taberemasen) which means "I can't eat ～."

If you have an allergy, be careful when ordering in a restaurant that serves food with your allergen. In Japanese, food allergy is 食物アレルギー (shokumotsu arerugii).

8. 持ち帰りにできますか？　もちかえりにできますか？　mochi kaeri ni dekimasu ka?　Can I get this to go?

In most Japanese restaurants, they will not do to-go after you have started eating the meal for hygiene reasons, but you can always try asking.

9. 別々にできますか？　べつべつにできますか？　betsu betsu ni dekimasu ka?　Can we pay separately?

Most izakaya (pubs) won't allow you to pay separately, but you can always ask.

10. ごちそうさまでした　gochisou sama deshita　Thank you for the meal

This phrase is used after eating in Japan, and if you use it as you leave the restaurant, you will let them know you enjoyed your meal.

Learning Hiragana from YouTube

So you are starting on your Japanese learning journey and you want to learn hiragana. It's intimidating, right? I've been there, too. But it's ok, you can master hiragana in no time!

I learned hiragana by memorization one summer many years ago. I wrote the characters over and over again until they were burned in my brain. But it was a struggle. So I looked for better ways to remember the hiragana syllabary, and I found.. YouTube!

If there's one thing I've learned being at home constantly for over a year, it's that working with other people (or even adjacent to other people) can be motivating and even soothing. So here are some YouTube videos you can watch whilst learning hiragana. Please feel free to add any other videos you have found useful!

The Easiest Way to Learn Hiragana - Japanese Ammo with Misa

Learn ALL Hiragana in 1 Hour - JapanesePod101

How to Read and Write Hiragana Alphabet - Japanese Calligrapher Takumi

A-I-U-E-O no Uta/Hiragana Song (あいうえおのうた) - Cyber Bunny

I'd like to close with this great really terrible pun.

Ganbatte ne!

Japanese Verbs - Polite Forms

Verb conjugation is one of the foundations of Japanese language learning. For more information on the differences between Class 1 (ごだん), Class 2 (いちだん), and Class 3 (へんかく) Verbs (どうし), check out my post on dictionary form of verbs.

I cover the polite form of verbs, both nonpast and past, from the dictionary form.

Nonpast, Polite Form of Verbs

Class 1 Verbs (五段動詞)

Take the last hiragana of the dictionary form and change it to its corresponding -i syllable. This gives you the conjunctive form. Then add ます for the affirmative or ません for the negative.

Example: わかる to understand ➡ る changes to り  ➡ わかり Add ます ➡ わかります Add ません ➡ わかりません

Other Class 1 Verbs

洗う　（あらう）　洗います　洗いません

書く　（かく）　書きます　書きません

話す　（はなす）　話します　話しません

立つ　（たつ）　立ちます　立ちません

読む　（よむ）　読みます　読みません

ある　あります　ありません

泳ぐ　（およぐ）　泳ぎます　泳ぎません

Class 2 Verbs (一段動詞)

Take the る off the plain form. This gives you the conjunctive form. Then add ます for the affirmative or ません for the negative.

Example: 食べる（たべる） to eat ➡ る drops ➡ 食べ Add ます ➡ 食べます Add ません ➡ 食べません

Other Class 2 Verbs

寝る　（ねる）　寝ます　寝ません

見る　（みる）　見ます　見ません

着る　（きる）　着ます　着ません

Class 3 Verbs (変格動詞)

Class 3 is the irregular verbs, and since there are only two of them they are fairly easy to remember. The conjunctive form of する is し and the conjunctive form of 来る is き in this case.

する　します　しません

来る　（くる）　来ます　来ません

Past, Polite Form of Verbs

To form the past, polite forms of verbs, take the conjunctive form then add ました for the affirmative or ませんでした for the negative.

Class 1 Verbs (五段動詞)

洗う　（あらう）　洗いました　洗いませんでした

書く　（かく）　書きました　書きませんでした

話す　（はなす）　話しました　話しませんでした

立つ　（たつ）　立ちました　立ちませんでした

読む　（よむ）　読みました　読みませんでした

ある　ありました　ありませんでした

泳ぐ　（およぐ）　泳ぎました　泳ぎませんでした

Class 2 Verbs (一段動詞)

食べる　（たべる）　食べました　食べませんでした

見る　（みる）　見ました　見ませんでした

着る　（きる）　着ます　着ません

Class 3 Verbs (変格動詞)

する　しました　しませんでした

来る　（くる）　来ました　（きました）　来ませんでした　（きませんでした）

Tricky Japanese Verb Conjugations

I did a post on the dictionary form of Japanese verbs, and discussed how to tell the difference between Class 1 and Class 2 verbs.

However, there are some tricky verbs that look like Class 2 verbs and satisfy the (not foolproof) Class 2 verb criteria, but are actually Class 1 verbs and thus follow the Class 1 rules for conjugation. Let’s take a look.

Dictionary Form

切る　きる　to cut

知る　しる　to know

帰る　かえる　to go back

走る　はしる　to run

入る　はいる　to enter

要る　いる　to need

減る　へる　to decrease

喋る　しゃべる　to chat

Class 1 Correct Conjugation (and the Wrong Class 2 Conjugation)

切る ➡ 切らない 〇 きない ✖

知る ➡ 知らない 〇 しない ✖

帰る ➡ 帰らない 〇 かえない ✖

走る ➡ 走らない 〇 はしない ✖

入る ➡ 入らない 〇 はいない ✖

要る ➡ 要らない 〇 いない ✖

減る ➡ 減らない 〇 へない ✖

喋る ➡ 喋らない 〇 しゃべない ✖

So beware of these types of verbs! There are other exceptions, and outside of having someone else correct you or learning the conjugation through repetition, they can be difficult to catch for beginners. Usually, Class 2 verb root endings of い or え are written separately from the kanji, whereas Class 1 verb endings are encompassed by the kanji. Check out Class 1 帰る (かえる) vs. Class 2 変える (かえる) for example.

If you are working on the fly, a smart phone or PC dictionary is your best bet. Sites like jisho.org will give you the class of verb (Godan or Ichidan). If you are in the middle of typing an email, for example, and aren’t interested in bringing up the dictionary separately, you could try typing in the verb conjugated as Class 2 on your smart phone or PC (with the Japanese keyboard activated) and see if the kanji pops up. If it does, then you have a Class 2 verb. If you don’t get the kanji popping up (e.g. しない doesn’t give you an option for the kanji for 知る), you may have a Class 1 verb in disguise.

As you learn new verbs and continue to conjugate them, you will get better at recognizing when a conjugation sounds right and you won’t have to search for each and every verb. As with much of language learning, if you put in the work in the beginning you will become more familiar with the conjugations and it won’t seem quite as tricky!

Japanese Verbs - Dictionary Form

Verb conjugation is one of the foundations of Japanese language learning. When you move into more advanced study the conjugation begins to come naturally, but starting out in Japanese I had to think about verb class and verb ending whenever I came across a new verb to conjugate. Now I don’t actively think about class when I conjugate verbs, but being able to explain how I know the conjugation for a specific verb is useful.

I cover the dictionary form of verbs (nonpast, plain, affirmative form) and the negative form of the dictionary form (nonpast, plain, negative form) here. That’s a lot of words, but if you look in a dictionary the dictionary form is what you will find for each verb. This form and the negative of this form can be used in casual conversation or writing. The dictionary form is the foundation of the verb and can be conjugated to your heart’s content.

Dictionary Form - nonpast, plain, affirmative form of verbs

Class 1 Verbs [root + ending] 五段動詞 (ごだんどうし)

洗う　あらう　to wash　[洗+う]

聞く　きく　to listen　[聞+く]

話す　はなす　to speak　[話+す]

立つ　たつ　to stand up　[立+つ]

読む　よむ　to read　[読+む]

泳ぐ　およぐ　to swim　[泳+ぐ]

ある　to exist (inanimate objects)　[あ+る]

Class 2 Verbs [root + ending] 一段動詞 (いちだんどうし)

食べる　たべる　to eat　[食べ+る]

寝る　ねる　to sleep　[寝+る]

見る　みる　to see　[見+る]

着る　きる　to wear　[着+る]

The ending of Class 1 verbs is variable (but all end in the う-column of hiragana) while Class 2 verbs all end in る. Class 2 verbs all have roots (that’s the part before the る that end in a syllable from the い- or え-column of hiragana.

Class 3 Verbs (Irregular Verbs) 変格動詞 (へんかくどうし)

する　to do

来る　くる　to come

Nonpast, plain negative form

Class 1 Verbs

Dictionary Form [root + ending] ➡ Nonpast, plain, negative form [root + あ-column hiragana corresponding to the dictionary form ending + ない]

洗+う➡洗+わ+ない

聞+く➡聞+か+ない

話+す➡話+さ+ない

立+つ➡立+た+ない

読+む➡読+ま+ない

泳+ぐ➡泳+が+ない

あ+る➡ない (ない is an い-adjective representing negativity)

Class 2 Verbs

Dictionary Form [root + ending] ➡ Nonpast, plain, negative form [root + ない]

食べ+る➡食べ+ない

寝+る➡寝+ない

見+る➡ 見+ない

着+る➡着+ない

Class 3 Verbs

Dictionary Form ➡ Nonpast, plain, negative form

する➡し+ない

来る➡来+ない　(Note: Pronunciation changes from くる to こない)