参る (まいる) is a humble way to say go or come when speaking respectfully to another person.

The idea

参る replaces 行く or 来る for the speaker or someone in the speaker’s group. Direction comes from context; に marks a destination. It is a godan verb: 参ります, 参りました, 参らない and 参って. The potential is 参れる.

Patterns to compare
Dictionary formPolite non-pastPolite pastPlain negativeて form
参る参ります参りました参らない参って

Examples

  • 明日あした、御社おんしゃのオフィスに参まいります。I will come to your office tomorrow.
  • 先週せんしゅう、仕事しごとで京都きょうとに参まいりました。I went to Kyoto last week on business.
  • うちの部長ぶちょうがまもなく参まいります。Our manager will come shortly.
  • ただいま会議室かいぎしつに参まいります。I will go to the meeting room now.
  • 申もうし訳わけありませんが、今日きょうは参まいれません。I am sorry, but I cannot come today.
  • 駅えきに参まいって、お客様きゃくさまにお会あいします。I will go to the station and meet the customer.

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 参る to elevate a customer’s movement: use the respectful いらっしゃる instead. It can also mean visiting a shrine or being troubled, but those uses are separate.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the polite non-past form: ＿。（参る→ます）

    Show answer or example answer

    参ります

    参ります is the polite non-past; it can describe a future visit.

  2. Write the て form: ＿。（参る→て）

    Show answer or example answer

    参って

    参って is the て form of the godan verb 参る.

  3. Choose the form for your own visit: 私わたしが御社おんしゃに＿。（参ります／いらっしゃいます）

    Show answer or example answer

    参ります

    参ります humbly describes the speaker’s movement toward the customer.

Use it today

Describe a future visit to a client using 参ります, then change it to the polite past.