Keigo helps you adjust speech to the people and situation, such as a conversation with a teacher or customer.

The idea

Respectful language raises the person performing an action: a teacher comes with いらっしゃいます or sees with ご覧になります. Humble language presents your own action modestly toward the other person: 伺います means to visit, and お持ちします means to bring. Polite です and ます address the listener politely without necessarily raising the subject.

Examples

  • 先生せんせいは、明日あした、いらっしゃいます。The teacher will come tomorrow.
  • 先生せんせいは、もう、ご覧らんになりました。The teacher has already seen it.
  • 私わたしが、資料しりょうを、お持もちします。I will bring the materials.
  • 私わたしが、明日あした、伺うかがいます。I will visit tomorrow.
  • 会議かいぎは、三時さんじに、始はじまります。The meeting starts at three.
  • 田中たなかさんは、お茶ちゃを、召めし上あがります。Ms Tanaka will drink tea.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not use a respectful verb for your own action or a humble verb for the teacher’s action in these situations. Group relationships and context also affect the choice; politeness is more than adding ます.

Try it yourself

  1. 先生せんせいが来くる → 先生せんせいが＿。（いらっしゃいます／伺うかがいます）

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    いらっしゃいます

    いらっしゃいます respectfully describes the teacher coming.

  2. 私わたしが訪たずねる → 私わたしが＿。（いらっしゃいます／伺うかがいます）

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    伺います

    伺います humbly describes your visit to the other person.

  3. 会議かいぎが始はじまる → 会議かいぎが＿。（始はじまります／いらっしゃいます）

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    始まります

    始まります is a polite form for the meeting; it does not honor an actor.

Use it today

Describe a teacher coming, your own visit and a meeting starting. Choose the form that fits the actor in each case.