#敬語

[tokidokitokyo]

お～ & ご～ Polite Language

丁寧語 (ていねいご・Polite Language)・美化語 (びかご・Refined Language)

Two of the major components of polite and refined language (丁寧語 and 美化語) are the prefixes お～ and ご～. Both can be represented by the kanji 御 (and in some cases it can also be pronounced おん). There is no hard and fast rule as to which words do and don't use お～ or ご～ so in general you need to memorize which words can have this prefix as well as which reading to use (although often it is written in kana). However, there are a few general principles which can help you to choose.

お～

Language used to make one's language more refined. Used at the beginning of nouns and adjectives. It can also be used with verb stems and adverbs in certain situations. In general, お～ attaches to nouns that are native Japanese words (和語, わご), but some words of Chinese origin (漢語, かんご) can also take this prefix. Words with this prefix are often related to words used in daily life, such as food and drink, or things related to everyday tasks.

ご～

A word placed at the beginning of a noun or adjective to indicate politeness. Only used for kanji compound words in which the first character is an on'yomi character, therefore words of Chinese origin (漢語, かんご). The words attached to this prefix are often abstract nouns, and not physical objects. There are a few native Japanese (和語, わご) adverbs and adjectives that can use this prefix. While お～ is usually in kana, ご～ is most commonly written in kanji.

Integrated Words

お and ご have become such an integral part of some words, that they cannot be removed and do not add politeness or respect to the word.

Examples:

おにぎり onigiri, rice ball

おはよう good morning

おなら fart

ごめん sorry

ごはん meal, rice

Deciding whether to use お～ or ご～ or no prefix at all

お～ and ご～ are often used to convey a feeling or respect or politeness towards the person you are addressing, so while you often use it with words that belong to the person, words that don't belong to the person are less commonly heard. お車 (おくるま) can be used to talk about a superior's car, but you wouldn't say お飛行機 (おひこうき) or お電車 (おでんしゃ) because those don't belong to them.

お～ and ご～ aren't used with katakana words, so you won't find it used with loan words. However, おトイレ can be used, probably because it is an everyday word.

What about おん?

In spoken formal Japanese, 御 is pronounced as おん when the word it is attached to is referring to an organization. For example: 御社 (おんしゃ, your (someone else's) company), and 御校 (おんこう, your (someone else's) school). [Note: In formal writing, 貴社 (きしゃ, your company) and 貴校 (きこう, your school) are used.] You can also read 御礼 (gratitude) as either おれい or おんれい, with おんれい being the more formal of the two.

Oh wait, I forgot to mention み～

A much less common reading of the prefix 御 is み, which is specifically used when talking about or to someone who deserves the highest respect - Buddha, God, the emperor, members of the imperial family. 御心 is usually read as おこころ but is read as みこころ when referring to the 心 (heart/love) of Buddha, God, or the emperor. 御国 (みくに) is country, 御名 (みな) is name, 御手 (みて) is hand, 御顔 (みかお) is face, and 御霊 (みたま) is spirit when referring to these entities of high respect.

And then there is ぎょ～

When 御 is read as ぎょ it shows respect to the emperor and his family, whether it's used as a prefix or not. 崩御 (ほうぎょ) is used only to refer to the death of the emperor or a member of the imperial family. Most of the words using ぎょ are very specialized, however a few are known in mainstream use. 御意 (ぎょい) originally was used to talk about the will of the emperor, but came to mean "as you wish" and can be used for anyone of a higher status than you. It is in use today, but is very formal and a bit old-fashioned. It's most common in writing. 御者 (ぎょしゃ) originally meant a coachman who drove a horse-drawn coach or carriage for the emperor and the imperial family, but today it is a general word for coachman.

Examples

Now to the examples!

Nouns

お名前 おなまえ name

ご家族 ごかぞく family

Adjectives

お優しい おやさしい kind

ご丁寧 ごていねい polite

Adverbs

お近く おちかく near

ごゆっくり take your time

Verbs

Used with the pattern お・ご～する or お～になる

お預かりする おあずかりする to look after

ご活躍する ごかつやくする to be active

お食べになる おたべになる to eat

My textbook: 外国人のための日本語敬語の使い方基本表現85

[anza-langblr]

オフィスで耳にした単語（１）

名詞 // Nouns

演習（えんしゅう）practice 開発費（かいはつひ）development cost 奇数（きすう）uneven number 後半（こうはん）latter half 借金（しゃっきん）debt, loan 実践（じっせん）practice, implementation 消防設備点検（しょうぼうせつびてんけん）Fire Safety Equipment Inspection 消防（しょうぼう）fire fighting 設備（せつび）equipment 前半（ぜんはん）first half 貸与（たいよ）loan, lending 点検（てんけん）inspection 添付ファイル（てんぷ）attached file 備品（びひん）fixtures, furnishing, equpiment 部署（ぶしょ）department 予算（よさん）budjet

動詞 // Verbs

該当する（がいとう）meet (qualifications), falling under, being applicable 加担する（かたん）assist, participate, support 換算する（かんさん）convert (currency) 記載する（きさい）list, note, record 計算する（けいさん）calculate 実施する（じっし）carry out 借金する（しゃっきん）borrow money 出社する（しゅっしゃ）go to the office 請求する（せいきゅう）demand, charge, bill 使いこなす（つかいこなす）handle, master 投資する（とうし）invest 並び替える（ならびかえる）arrange 配布する（はいふ）distribute 儲ける（もうける）make profit, earn

形容詞 // Adjectives

細かい（こまかい）small 精神的な（せいしんてき）mental, spiritual, moral

その他 // Other

気合が入る（きあい が はいる）be motivated 掲題の件ですが…（けいだい）concerning the matter mentioned before (common expression in business emails) ご一読ください（いちどく）please, read it through 承知いたしました（しょうち）Understood 即座に（そくざ）right there on the spot 即興で（そっきょう）improvised, without any preperation ���日の勤務を終了いたします（ほんじつ は きんむ を しゅうりょう いたします）I am finishing work for today

[moznohayanie]

仕事でメールするときに見るやつです

そろそろ研修期間も終わる新社会人のみなさまへ、"謹んで”🎵

[moko1590m]

腫れ物に触るような会話 日本語会話 過剰敬語

[extracts-sheep]

リンク: https://meetscareer.tenshoku.mynavi.jp/ を含む

"特に敬語に関する言葉では、こういうことはよくあるんです。それまで何の支障もなく使われていた言葉が、いつの間にか、誰が言い出すともなく失礼と見なされる。専門家は「敬意漸減（ぜんげん）の法則」などと呼んでいます。漸減、つまり少しずつ敬意がすり減ってくるわけですね。"

https://meetscareer.tenshoku.mynavi.jp/entry/20231109-iima#:~:text=%E7%89%B9%E3%81%AB%E6%95%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%81%AB%E9%96%A2%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B%E8%A8%80%E8%91%89%E3%81%A7%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81%E3%81%93%E3%81%86%E3%81%84%E3%81%86%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AF%E3%82%88%E3%81%8F%E3%81%82%E3%82%8B%E3%82%93%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%80%82%E3%81%9D%E3%82%8C%E3%81%BE%E3%81%A7%E4%BD%95%E3%81%AE%E6%94%AF%E9%9A%9C%E3%82%82%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F%E4%BD%BF%E3%82%8F%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A6%E3%81%84%E3%81%9F%E8%A8%80%E8%91%89%E3%81%8C%E3%80%81%E3%81%84%E3%81%A4%E3%81%AE%E9%96%93%E3%81%AB%E3%81%8B%E3%80%81%E8%AA%B0%E3%81%8C%E8%A8%80%E3%81%84%E5%87%BA%E3%81%99%E3%81%A8%E3%82%82%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8F%E5%A4%B1%E7%A4%BC%E3%81%A8%E8%A6%8B%E3%81%AA%E3%81%95%E3%82%8C%E3%82%8B%E3%80%82%E5%B0%82%E9%96%80%E5%AE%B6%E3%81%AF%E3%80%8C%E6%95%AC%E6%84%8F%E6%BC%B8%E6%B8%9B%EF%BC%88%E3%81%9C%E3%82%93%E3%81%92%E3%82%93%EF%BC%89%E3%81%AE%E6%B3%95%E5%89%87%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AA%E3%81%A9%E3%81%A8%E5%91%BC%E3%82%93%E3%81%A7%E3%81%84%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%80%82%E6%BC%B8%E6%B8%9B%E3%80%81%E3%81%A4%E3%81%BE%E3%82%8A%E5%B0%91%E3%81%97%E3%81%9A%E3%81%A4%E6%95%AC%E6%84%8F%E3%81%8C%E3%81%99%E3%82%8A%E6%B8%9B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%A6%E3%81%8F%E3%82%8B%E3%82%8F%E3%81%91%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%81%AD%E3%80%82

[chatoran3cats]

礼儀正しい わんチャイ♡敬語

[yokanjicho-s-eye]

新入社員向けのAIサービス。

確かに敬語って難しいので、こう言いたいけど敬語だとどうなるんだっけ？って思う時があるのでそういう時に使ってみるのは良いかもしれないですな。

ただ、個人的には使いすぎるのはあまり良くない気がしますな。。。

[unicla]

「ご拝読頂きありがとうございます」は変？

(English below)

ある会社から、情報登録を促すメールを受け取りました。

締めの一言が掲題の文章。

「最後までご拝読頂きありがとうございました」

違和感はありませんか？

もし「別に変じゃない」とお思いの場合は、普段から相手に失礼なことを言ったり書いたりしている可能性があります。解説を読んでみてくださいね。

全く知らない人にタメ口で話しかける？

メールを送ってきた会社にとって、私は「潜在顧客」です。もしかしたらお客さまになってくれるかもしれない人のこと。そして、全く知らない人でもあります。

こういう人に対しては、敬語を使うのが無難です。なぜなら、

お客さまになりうる

身内でも知り合いでもない、最も遠い関係

1番について。サービスを利用してもらって成り立つビジネスです。「お客さまは神様」じゃないですが、やはり「目上の人」として遇するべき相手です。したがって、サービスを提供する側はへりくだり、お客さまに何かしてもらう際は敬う表現を用いましょう。

2番について。お互いに会ったことのない、全く知らない人と話す際は「ですます調」を使ったり、「さん」付けで呼んだりと、丁寧な話し方をするのが普通です。いきなりタメ口で話す人もいますが、なんだか居心地が悪かったり「馴れ馴れしい」と感じたりします。ちょっと難しい言い方をすれば、日本語には対象との心理的な距離に応じて表現を変える特徴があり、遠ければ遠いほど丁寧になるのです。

言いたいことは「読んでくれてありがとう」

冒頭の「最後までご拝読いただきありがとうございました」に戻ります。

言いたいことは「最後まで読んでくれてありがとう」ですね。これを、「最も遠い関係の目上の人」向けに変更しましょう。敬語をどう取り入れればいいでしょうか。

（続きはこちら）

Is “Gohaidoku itadaki arigatou gozaimasu（Thank you for reading)" strange?

I received an email from a company asking me to register my information.

The closing sentence is the one shown above.

Saigo made gohaidoku itadaki arigatou gozaimasu.（「最後までご拝読いただきありがとうございます」）

Do you think it is strange?

If you think it is not strange, you may be saying or writing something rude to the other person on a regular basis. Please read the explanation.

Talking to a complete stranger in a casual manner?

To the company that sent me the e-mail, I am a "potential customer”. A person who might possibly become a customer. And I am also a complete stranger.

For these people, it is safe to use honorifics. Because:

1.Potential Customers

2.The most distant relationship, neither relatives nor acquaintances.

About #1. This is a business that depends on the use of services. The customer is not an emperor, but he or she should be treated as a superior person. Therefore, the person providing the service should be humble and use respectful expressions when asking the customer to do something for you.

Regarding #2. When talking to someone you have never met and do not know at all, it is normal to speak politely, using a "desu-masu" tone and addressing the person by "san". Some people suddenly talk to each other using the "タメ口(tame-guchi)”, casual style, but it may seem uncomfortable or too familiar to them. To put it another way, Japanese language has a characteristic of changing expressions depending on the psychological distance between the speaker and the target, and the farther away the speaker is, the more polite his/her style becomes.

What you want to say is "Thank you for reading”

Let's go back to the beginning, “最後までご拝読頂きありがとうございます(saigo made gohaidoku itadaki arigatou gozaimasu)”.

What you want to say is "Thank you for reading to the end.”  Let's change this for the least related superior. How can we incorporate honorific expressions?

Nouns have honorific expressions, too. For example, "返事(henji)," a reply would be “お返事(ohenji)," "ご返信(gohenshin)," and so on. There is no appropriate honorific expression for "最後まで," so we will leave it as it is.

The problem is "read". Who is "reading" it?　

It is the customer who received the e-mail. Therefore, we need to change "read" to an honorific(respectful expression).

Although "拝読(haidoku)" is an honorific, do you know who is being honored?

meaning of haidoku(Japanese dictionary)

It is a way to honor the writer by reading while worshipping, i.e., by humbling yourself, not the person who is reading.

Therefore, "ご拝読して(gohaidoku shite)" has a nuance like "read respectfully the text written by me, the great" (perhaps a bit of an exaggeration).

To be correct, you should use as follows: "お読みいただきありがとうございます(oyomi itadaki arigatou gozaimasu)” or “お目通しいただきありがとうございます(omedoshi itadaki arigatou gozaimasu).”

Is "gohaidoku sasete itadakimasu" incorrect?

A similar expression that is often seen is "ご拝読させていただきます(gohaidoku sasete itadakimasu,"I will read it over").

As explained earlier, "拝読(haidoku)" means to read with respect for the writer. If you add "go" to it, you are honoring the person who is reading it. “Go" is unnecessary.

The honorific expression that expresses respect for the other person by humbling oneself is called "humble language.” The phrase "させていただきます（sasete itadakimasu）" is often used because it is convenient.

How about "拝読させていただきます(haidoku sasete itadakimasu)"?  It means いただいた文章をありがたく読ませていただく(itadaita bunshou wo arigataku yomasete itadaku,"I will read with gratitude the text I have received with gratitude,") which may not be a problem in colloquial speech.

However, as explained earlier, "拝読(haidoku)" means "to read with respect," and it is already a humble word. Piling humble words on top of humble words makes it sound too humble and strange. In the written form, "I will read with gratitude the text I received," saying "I will read with gratitude" over and over again is maddening, and some people may think you are joking.

In the written form, it is better to say simply, "拝読しました(haidoku shimashita,) I have read it.”

One more thing to take care

Here is one more usage you should be careful about. You cannot use "拝読しました(haidoku shimashita), I have read it" in situations such as you read the book that your boss recommended to read, and you are expressing thankfulness to the boss.

This is because, as mentioned above, "拝読(haidoku)" means "to read out of respect for the writer.” If it is your boss who wrote the book, "拝読しました(haidoku shimashita,) “I have read your book" is correct. If you read a book that was merely recommended to you, "おすすめいただいた本を読みました(osusume itadaita hon wo yomimashita,) I read the book you recommended to me" is polite enough.

Honorifics are difficult. It is because it is necessary to consider the meaning of the words, the content of the message, and the distance from the listener. Let's start with expressions that you understand the meaning of correctly and get used to them through experience. 

[mochayoubi]

some helpful graphics explaining 尊敬語 and 謙譲語 (from 大人のための敬語の使い方BOOK)

[tokidokitokyo]

敬語 - When, Where, Who?

敬語 (keigo) is honorific language, but in what situations do you use it and to whom? It's tricky because 敬語 is relative honorific language (it depends on the situation and person you are speaking with) and is thus broken up into three parts: polite & refined language, honorific language, and humble language.

丁寧語・美化語 (teineigo/bikago) Polite & Refined Language 丁寧語 = polite language (esp. the use of ～ま��� and ～です) 美化語 = refined language, elegant speech (esp. the use of the prefixes お～ and ご～)

尊敬語 (sonkeigo) Honorific Language

謙譲語・丁重語 (kenjyougo/teichougo) Humble Language 謙譲語 = humble language (i.e. humble language in which the listener [or a third party] is the indirect object of an action [or the recipient of an object, etc.]) 丁重語 = courteous language (i.e. humble language in which an action or object is not directed toward the listener or a third party)

Since 敬語 expressions for the same person can differ based on ウチ (uchi) and ソト (soto) - whether they are "in" your group or "out" of your group - the 敬語 you use will differ based on the relationship between the speaker, the listener, and the person being spoken about.

Factors that determine whether or not to use 敬語 and the appropriate level of 敬語 to use:

Relationship: Hierarchy (boss and subordinate, store manager and store employee, older and younger person, etc.) Social standing and role (customer and employee, teacher and student, guest and host, etc.) Level of intimacy (close relationship or first time meeting, length of relationship)

Place: Formal or casual situation (ceremony vs. cafe, business meeting vs. izakaya, etc.)

Intention: One's feelings towards the person being spoken to (level of gratitude or apology, who is profiting, etc.)

Generally speaking, 敬語 is based more on social position and standing than age. Intention is also a large part of the level of 敬語 one uses.

For example, if making a phone call will benefit the person being spoken to, you might use 「お電話差し上げます」 (o-denwa sashiagemasu), but if you, the speaker, would benefit from the call, you would instead express it in a way as though you are receiving permission to make the phone call, 「お電話させていただきます」 (o-denwa sasete itadakimasu). And even if the person being spoken to benefits from the situation, in order to show greater politeness to them you might use 「お電話させていただきます」 (o-denwa sasete itadakimasu) to convey your feelings of humility and to show that you are also benefiting from the situation.

This is why 敬語 can be difficult to master, even for native Japanese speakers. Not only does it need to be grammatically correct, it also involves thinking about how to express yourself towards the other party.

[anza-langblr]

改まった形｜Polite Forms

In formal settings like in a business meeting or at a public gathering some words are switched with politer forms. You often hear them when somebody is giving a speech, holding a presentation or on TV. But they appear in written form as well, especially in business context. Basically, everywhere where keigo is used, it is also expected to apply politer forms.

[sexybritishllama]

i can’t talk to people about translation because i'll start losing it and gnawing at people’s ankles. my litmus test is that if you think manga translations should always keep in the -san/-kun/-chan/etc honorifics for official english localisations you need to stay at least 100 feet away from me at all times

[pleas3pretendimnothere]

can someone let me know if there are a lot of subtitles in the new dune movie?? i really want to see it, but i live in Japan, and i wanna know how much fake-language talk id miss because it would be subbed in 日本語...

[warriorfujoshi]

I hear the devil calling my name trying to get me to write a post about the nuances of Japanese first person pronouns again

[letters-to-rosie]

@mjsakurea