Honorifics show respect, but piling them onto one verb can make an expression awkward.
The idea
Use one respectful form for another person’s action: いらっしゃる for coming, ご覧になる for seeing, or お読みになる for reading. For your own visit, use the humble 伺う; いたす humbly replaces する.
Examples
- 先生はもういらっしゃいました。The teacher has already arrived.
- 部長がその本をご覧になりました。The department manager looked at that book.
- 社長はそうおっしゃいました。The company president said so.
- 先生が資料をお読みになりました。The teacher read the materials.
- 私が明日、伺います。I will visit you tomorrow.
- 私から説明いたします。I will explain it.
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Watch out
Do not add another respectful marker to an already respectful verb: おいらっしゃる and ご覧になられる are examples of double honorifics generally avoided in careful standard usage. Some established combinations are accepted, so context matters.
Try it yourself
先生はもう＿。（いらっしゃいました／おいらっしゃいました）
Show answer or example answer
いらっしゃいました
いらっしゃいました already respectfully describes the teacher’s arrival; adding お duplicates the honorific.
部長が本を＿。（ご覧になりました／ご覧になられました）
Show answer or example answer
ご覧になりました
ご覧になりました is a respectful form of 見る; adding られる repeats the respectful marking.
私が明日＿。（伺います／いらっしゃいます）
Show answer or example answer
伺います
伺います humbly describes your own visit; いらっしゃいます would honor the person doing the visiting.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
先生はもう＿。（いらっしゃいました／おいらっしゃいました）
いらっしゃいました
部長が本を＿。（ご覧になりました／ご覧になられました）
私が明日＿。（伺います／いらっしゃいます）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Choose a single suitable form for each action, paying attention to who performs it.