The special verbs
These replace the ordinary verb entirely. Learn them as pairs: respectful for others, humble for yourself.
| Plain | Respectful (they) | Humble (I) |
|---|---|---|
| 行く・来る・いる | いらっしゃる irassharu | 参る mairu / おる oru (いる) |
| 言う | おっしゃる ossharu | 申す mōsu |
| する | なさる nasaru | いたす itasu |
| 食べる・飲む | 召し上がる meshiagaru | いただく itadaku |
| 見る | ご覧になる goran ni naru | 拝見する haiken suru |
| 知っている | ご存じだ gozonji da | 存じている zonjite iru |
| もらう | None | いただく itadaku |
| くれる | くださる kudasaru | None |
Two patterns for every other verb
Verbs without a special form use お + stem + になる (respectful) or お + stem + する (humble). Many noun + する verbs use ご instead: ご説明します.
お〜になる: they do
お〜する: I do (for you)
Keigo you will hear every day
You do not need to produce these yet, but you will hear them in every shop, station and hotel.
Keigo nouns and set words
Keigo replaces some everyday nouns and words too.
| Keigo | Meaning | Everyday word |
|---|---|---|
| onsha | your company (spoken) | 会社 |
| kisha | your company (written) | 会社 |
| heisha | our company (humble) | 会社 |
| kochira | this (person, place) | これ, ここ |
| dochira | where, who (polite) | どこ, 誰 |
| shōshō | a little | 少し |
| tadaima | right now | 今 |
| yoroshii | good, all right | いい |
Building a keigo sentence step by step
From a plain sentence to business keigo, one step at a time.
Keigo in email
Fixed humble phrases that open and close business email.
お世話になっておりますosewa ni natte orimasuthank you for your support
ご確認gokakuninconfirmationいただけますとitadakemasu toif I could receive幸いですsaiwai desuI’d be grateful
何卒nanitozokindlyよろしくyoroshikuwellお願い申し上げますonegai mōshiagemasuI humbly ask
Check yourself
Try each one, then open the answer to check and hear it.
- Respectful “is there?” (about a person)
Show answer
irasshaimasu ka - Humble “I am called”
Show answer
mōshimasu - Respectful “eat”
Show answer
meshiagaru - Humble “I’ll go / visit”
Show answer
ukagaimasu - “Certainly” (staff to customer)
Show answer
kashikomarimashita
Keigo at work
On the phone to a client, respectful forms for the client, humble forms for yourself and your own colleagues.
CallerYamada-sama wa irasshaimasu ka. · “Is Mr Yamada there?”いらっしゃる: respectful “is”.
山田様Yamada-samaMr Yamadaはwa(topic)いらっしゃいますかirasshaimasu kais (he) in?
StaffMōshiwake gozaimasen. Yamada wa tadaima seki o hazushite orimasu. · “I’m sorry, Yamada is away from his desk.”Talking to an outsider: no さん on her own colleague, and humble おります.
申し訳ございませんmōshiwake gozaimasenI’m very sorry山田YamadaYamadaはwa(topic)ただいまtadaimaright now席sekideskをo(object)外しておりますhazushite orimasuis away (humble)
CallerDe wa, mata odenwa shimasu. · “I’ll call back, then.”お + noun + します: humble.
ではde wathenまたmataagainお電話しますodenwa shimasuI’ll call (humble)
StaffKashikomarimashita. · “Certainly.”The keigo “understood”.
かしこまりましたkashikomarimashitacertainly