ぶんぽう (Grammar) |
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In this lesson, we will formally introduce honorific verbs (marked by (a) Special honorific formsAmong the most commonly used verbs, six verbs (いる, 行く, 来る, 言う, する, くれる) take a special honorific pattern marked by ✅ below. Note that the special pattern happens only for the polite forms (i.e., ます forms). You have seen this already in conversations introduced in Lesson 9. Their plain forms of these verbs conjugate as regular verbs.
(b) Standard honorific formsMost honorific verbs are formed by inserting the verb stem in the standard honorific verb pattern (お + Verb-stem + になる). ✅ A small number of verbs with a short verb stem are slight exceptions to this rule as noted below. The last verb 見る does not follow this pattern and is truly exceptional.
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Honorific verb forms are used to show respect toward the person whose action you are describing. They are typically used when talking about:
Do not combine the two honorific patterns to describe a single action: 何をお聞きになって In business settings, the choice of honorific language depends not only on social hierarchy but also on the distinction between in-group (内／うち) and out-group (外／そと). Suppose you and Ms. Okada both work for Company A, and Division Manager Tanaka is your supervisor. When speaking with your colleague Okada, you may use honorific forms to describe your superior's actions:
Now suppose you are speaking with Ms. Smith from Company B. Because Tanaka is a member of your company (your in-group), you do not elevate him with honorific language when speaking to someone from another company:
Notice that in the second example, you even drop Tanaka's title when referring to him. This is not disrespectful toward your boss. In Japanese business communication, using honorific expressions to elevate a member of your own company—even your superior—when speaking with someone outside the company is inappropriate. In such situations, the in-group/out-group distinction takes precedence over the hierarchy within your own group. |
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The honorific pattern お + V-stem + ください (“Please V”) is often used to politely encourage someone to do something for their own benefit or convenience. It functions as gentle advice or encouragement and is commonly heard in public announcements and customer-service situations.
Do not confuse this use with an honorific request. If the speaker asks someone to perform an action for the speaker's benefit, the expression functions as a request rather than advice. In such cases, the honorific advice pattern cannot simply be substituted for a request expression. The key distinction is who benefits from the action:
The following question forms do not work as a request because the encouraged action benefits the speaker, not the person who does the action.
More examples of honorific advice follow:
Caution: This pattern normally uses ご, not お. Simply changing N + する to お + N + ください generally does not work. For example, お勉強ください sounds unnatural. There are, however, some established expressions with お, such as お電話ください (Please call). |
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Some nouns and adjectives can be made more polite or honorific by adding the prefix お or ご. In general, お is used with words of Japanese origin (often written with a single kanji), while ご is used with words of Chinese origin (often written with two kanji). However, there are many exceptions, so the choice of お or ご should ultimately be learned as part of each expression. Words written in katakana rarely take an honorific prefix. ⚠ Pronunciation Note: The kanji 話 is pronounced はな in the verb 話します, but as a noun, 話 is pronounced はなし (or ばなし in some compound words).
The use of お and ご is largely determined by established usage. Therefore, do not freely create new honorific nouns or adjectives simply by adding お or ご to a word you have never heard used that way. Some words are now so commonly used with お or ご that the prefix is normally treated as part of the everyday expression rather than as a special honorific form. Examples include: おなか ("stomach") and ごはん ("meal/rice"). If the prefix is removed, the remaining form (なか or はん) does not have the intended meaning. Some words have special honorific forms. ✅ Note that the honorific form of みんな is みなさま. みんなさま is misspelled. |
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When you wish to thank someone for doing something for you, use the て-form of the giving verb くれる (“to do/give something for me”) in the pattern: Vて + くれて + ありがとう. This expression can be made more polite by changing くれて to its honorific form くださって and ありがとう to ありがとうございました.
✅ Note 1: In this pattern, くれる／くださる is important because it expresses that the other person's action was done for the speaker's benefit. Simply saying ノートをかしてありがとう is not acceptable as a standard expression of gratitude. Say: ノートをかしてくれて、ありがとう。 When くださる is used, do not also make the preceding verb honorific. For example, avoid お書きになってくださって. Use: 書いてくださって、ありがとうございました。 ✅ Note 2: Do not combine an honorific verb form with くれる (e.g., × お書きになってくれて). Use either Vてくれる in an informal relationship or Vてくださる when showing respect. ✅ Note 3: To thank someone for being or remaining in a certain state, ～でいてくれてありがとう can be used:
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To say that you are glad something happened, use: Vて + よかった (I'm glad that…). To say that you are glad something did not happen, use the negative て-form: Vなくて + よかった (I'm glad that…didn't happen.).
The て-forms of い-adjectives and な-adjectives/nouns can also be followed by よかった:
Other emotional reactions with the て-FormThe て-form can be followed by expressions other than よかった. In these sentences, the first part presents the situation, and the second part expresses the speaker's emotional reaction or evaluation of that situation.
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The sentence ending ～はずです expresses a strong expectation or belief that something should be / is expected to be true. The speaker reaches this conclusion based on known circumstances, information, or common-sense expectations.
The speaker does not know Smith's current location directly but reaches this conclusion based on the known travel time. FormationThe sentence before はず is generally in the plain form. Note the special forms used with non-past affirmative nouns and な-adjectives.
Negation normally occurs before はず: …ないはずです (…should not / is not expected to…). A stronger denial can be expressed with: …はずはない (There is no way that… / It cannot possibly be that…).
はずです vs. でしょうBecause はずです expresses a relatively strong expectation based on some reason or evidence, it is not normally combined with でしょう, which adds uncertainty.
はずです Is Not an Expression of ObligationBe careful with the English expression “be supposed to.” In English, “be supposed to” can describe either an expectation or a rule/obligation. Japanese はずです expresses the former, but normally not the latter. For example: ❓日本では家の中でくつをぬぐはずです。
Intended: You are supposed to take off your shoes inside a house in Japan.
If you mean that this is a rule or expectation of behavior, use an obligation expression: 日本では家の中でくつをぬがなくてはいけません。
You have to take off your shoes inside a house in Japan.
Likewise:
❓クラスでたばこをすわないはずです。
Intended: You are not supposed to smoke in class.
Use a prohibition instead: クラスでたばこをすってはいけません。
You must not smoke in class.
～たはずです vs. ～るはずでしたPay particular attention to the difference between past tense before はず and past tense after はず.
田中さんはきのうそのミーティングに出たはずです。
Tanaka should have attended the meeting yesterday. → I believe he attended it.
Here, 出た describes the expected past event. The speaker believes that the event actually occurred. Compare: 田中さんはきのうそのミーティングに出るはずでした。
Tanaka was supposed to attend the meeting yesterday. → He was expected/scheduled to attend.
Here, はずでした describes a past expectation or plan. It does not by itself mean that Tanaka actually attended. In context, it often implies that the expectation was not fulfilled. Thus:
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below). Honorific verbs are used to describe actions of others we respect (Someone other than the speaker does something graciously or respectfully). Being able to use the proper honorific language (