There are three groups for Japanese honorifics.
Respectful language: 尊敬語(そん・けい・ご)
尊敬 means ‘respect’. You use 尊敬語 to describe somebody superior such as emperor, president, boss, teacher etc in a respectful way. Shop staff also use respectful language to customers.
You can see 尊敬語 in verbs, nouns and adjectives.
Verbs
Here is the list of verbs used for respectful language. Verbs in brackets are normal verbs.
- eat → めしあがる(たべる)
- see → ごらんになる(みる)
- do → なさる(する)
- come → いらっしゃる(くる)
- give → くださる(くれる)
- wear → おめしになる(きる)
- say → おっしゃる(いう)
私の先生が私にえんぴつをくれました is the same but sounds less respectful.
Noun
You can make nouns respectful if you add お or ご at the start of them.
お + noun
Add お in front of a noun if you want to be polite. Not all nouns can have お. Here are some examples:
- おちゃわん bowl for rice
- お父さん(お・とう・さん)father
- お花(お・はな)flower
ご + noun
Add ご in front of a noun if you want to be polite. Not all nouns can have ご. Here are some examples:
- ご家族(ご・かぞく)family
- ご意見(ご・いけん)opinion
Adjective
お + adjective
Add お in front of an adjective if you want to be polite. Not all adjectives can have お. Here are some examples:
- おはやい early
- おうつくしい beautiful
- おきれい beautiful, pretty
Humble language: 謙譲語(けん・じょう・ご)
謙譲 means ‘humble’ or ‘modest’. You use 謙譲語 to describe yourself in a humble way, so that you can show respect.
Here is the list of verbs used for humble language. Verbs in brackets are normal verbs.
- eat → いただく(たべる)
- see → はいけんする(みる)
- do → いたす(する)
- come → まいる(くる)
- receive → いただく(もらう)
- ask → うかがう(きく)
- say → もうす(いう)
- meet → おめにかかる(あう)
- give → さしあげる(あたえる)
私は先生からえんぴつをもらいました is the same but sounds less respectful.
Polite language: 丁寧語(てい・ねい・ご)
丁寧 means ‘polite’. 丁寧語 is a word with です, ます or ございます.
おはよう is the same as おはようございます but not polite.
私は日本人だ is the same as 私は日本人です but not polite.
Exercise
Task: Change into English.
- 先生から本をいただきました。
- おっしゃるとおりです。
- はじめまして。キャメロンともうします。
- おめにかかることができてうれしいです。
- お手がみをはいけんしました。
- おきゃくさま、どのスカートをおめしになりますか。
- きのう私は十時までしゅくだいをいたしました。
- I received a book from my teacher.
- What you say is exactly true.
- Nice to see you. I am Cameron.
- Nice to see you.
- I read your letter.
- (To a customer) Which skirt are you going to wear?
- I did homework until 10 o’clock yesterday.