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Humble and Extra-Modest Expressions |
In Lesson 21, we learned honorific expressions () (i.e., honorific verbs, adjectives, nouns, and expressions for making honorific requests and giving advice). Honorific expressions, known as 尊敬語 in Japanese, are used to describe the actions, attributes, possessions, etc. of people to whom the speaker wishes to show respect. They elevate the person being referred to and therefore should not be used to describe the speaker’s own actions, attributes, or possessions.
We can also show respect to the person we are speaking to or referring to by describing our own actions—or the actions of members of our in-group when speaking to someone outside the group—in a modest or humble way. These expressions can be divided into two types, depending on whether the speaker’s action directly involves the person to whom respect is being shown: (a) humble expressions ( ) and (b) extra-modest expressions.
(a) Humble Expressions
Humble expressions are used when an action performed by the speaker (or a member of the speaker’s in-group) involves the person to whom respect is being shown. Such actions include visiting, speaking to, or giving something to someone, as well as hearing or receiving something from someone. By describing the speaker’s own action humbly, the person involved in that action is indirectly elevated. The following verbs have special humble forms:
| English |
Neutral Forms |
Humble Forms |
| go |
行く |
[u] うかがう |
| come |
来る |
[u] うかがう |
| ask |
聞く |
[u] うかがう |
| receive |
もらう |
[u] いただく |
| give (to others) |
あげる |
[ru] さしあげる |
| say (to others) |
言う |
[ru] もうしあげる |
| know |
知っている |
[sp] ぞんじあげています or ぞんじております |
| do not know |
知らない |
[sp] ぞんじません |
Note that three basic verbs (行く, 来る and 聞く) have the same special humble form (うかがう):
- きのう、部長のおたくにうかがいました。
I humbly visited (= went to) the division manager’s home yesterday.
- 来週の月曜日にまたこちらにうかがいたいんですが。
I would like to visit (= come) here again humbly next Monday. [Is it all right?]
- ちょっとうかがいたいことがあるんですが。
There is something I would like to ask you (humbly).
もらう and あげる also have special humble forms, いただく and さしあげる, respectively.
- 先生に辞書をいただきました。
I humbly received a dictionary from my teacher.
- 田中せんぱいにさしあげるプレゼントをもう決めましたか。
Did you decide the present you are going to give to our senior member, Mr. Tanaka, yet?
The humble forms of 言う ("say") and 知っている ("know") are also special.
- こんな時は部長に何ともうしあげたらいいんでしょうか。
What should I humbly say to the division manager in this kind of case?
- 斎藤先生: スミスさんは東大の上田先生を知っていますか。
Mr. Smith, do you know Prof. Ueda of Tokyo University?
スミス： ええ、ぞんじあげています (or ぞんじております)。
Yes, I humbly know him/her.
斎藤先生: ブラウン先生は？
How about Prof. Brown?
スミス： いいえ、その方はぞんじません。
No, I don't know him/her.
For other verbs, you can create humble forms by applying the /お + verb stem + します/ pattern.
| English |
Neutral Forms |
Humble Forms (): /お V-stem する/ |
| meet |
会う |
お会いする |
| lend |
貸す |
お貸しする |
| hold/carry |
持つ |
お持ちする |
| borrow |
借りる |
お借りする |
| Exception: |
| see |
見る |
拝見する |
Examples:
- かさを お貸ししましょうか。
Shall I lend you an umbrella?
- 先週、パーティーで社長のおくさまに お会いしました。
I met our company president’s wife at the party last week.
- 私がそれを お持ちします。
I will carry that one (you are carrying).
- この本を お借りしても よろしいでしょうか。
Would it be all right if I borrow this book of yours?
- 先生のプレゼンを
拝見しました。
I saw your presentation.
For many N + する compound verbs, a humble form can be made with the pattern ご／お + N + します (or いたします). This pattern is used when the speaker (or a member of the speaker's in-group) performs an action directed toward or for the benefit of the person to whom respect is being shown.
For most Sino-Japanese (kanji-compound) nouns, ご is used. However, some common expressions, such as 電話する, take お instead.
| English |
Neutral Forms |
Humble Forms (): /ご or お N する/ |
| meet |
紹介する |
ご紹介する or ご紹介いたします |
| contact |
連絡する
|
ご連絡する or ご連絡いたします |
| show (around)/guide |
案内する
|
ご案内する or ご案内いたします |
| Exception: |
| call |
電話する |
お電話する or お電話いたします |
Examples:
- ご紹介(いた)します。こちらは日本大学の山下先生でいらっしゃいます。
Let me introduce Professor Yamashita of Nihon University.
- 後ほど (a polite version of 後で) 係りの者がごれんらく(いた)します。
The person in charge will contact you later.
- 部長： ミラーくん、お客様を会議室
(conference room) までご案内して。
Miller, please show the visitors to the conference room.
ミラー： はい。どうぞ、こちらへ。
Yes. This way please.
- 今晩、お電話してもよろしいでしょうか。
May I call you tonight?
⚠ Important Restrictions:
- Not every N + する verb can be made humble simply by adding お／ご. The お／ご + N + する pattern is generally used when the speaker's action is directed toward or affects the person to whom respect is being shown, often as a service, favor, or other action performed for that person. For example, ご連絡します is appropriate when I contact you, because you are the recipient of my action. In contrast, if I am merely describing an action of my own that does not involve the respected person, this humble pattern is generally not used.
- Also note that it is generally inappropriate to use the Vて + さしあげる pattern when speaking directly to a superior. Although さしあげる is the humble form of あげる, ～てさしあげる explicitly presents the speaker's action as something done for the benefit of the other person. When used directly to a superior, it can therefore sound as though the speaker is emphasizing that they are doing the superior a favor, which may sound presumptuous or impolite.
In such situations, it is usually more appropriate to omit さしあげる and use the humble ご／お + N + します（or いたします） pattern introduced above.
- 説明してさしあげましょうか。 ✕ → ご説明いたします。 ✓
I will explain it (to you).
(b) Extra-Modest Expressions (Introduced as "business" forms in L.9/21)
Some verbs have special extra-modest forms. Extra-modest expressions are used when you want to talk modestly of your own actions (or actions of your in-group members) which do not involve the person with whom you are speaking.
| |
Extra-modest expressions |
| いる |
おります |
| 行く |
まいります |
| 来る |
まいります |
| 言う |
もうします |
| する |
いたします |
| 食べる |
いただきます |
| 飲む |
いただきます |
| ある |
ございます |
| ～ている |
～ております |
| noun + です |
noun + でございます |
Both humble expressions and extra-modest expressions are used to talk about yourself (or your in-group member) and almost always used in polite forms.
 NEVER use humble forms to refer to the other's (= outgroup member's) action. Even though the following sentences use a polite ます form or an honorific request form, they are extremely rude.
| 1. |
ウェイター： 何を いただきますか。 [Rude/Unacceptable]
Waiter: What would you humbly like to have? |
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| 2. |
今すぐじゅんびを いたしてください。[Rude/Unacceptable]
Please prepare for it right now. |
Exercise: Think of a new situation in which the question in #1 above can be used acceptably.
| ⇒ |
This question is rude precisely because the waiter is asking the guest (=outgroup member). If the guest uses the same question to ask his/her own group member (e.g., a colleague) who is also at the dinner table, this simply becomes an extra-modest expression: "What are we having?" |
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This pattern expresses the idea of doing something (V2) without doing something else (V1). This expression is about the actions of the same person (i.e., The subject of V1 should be the same as that of V2). For example,
- きのうはつかれていたので、おふろに入らないでねてしまいました。
Because I was tired yesterday, I ended up going to bed without taking a bath.
- 朝ねぼうしたので、朝ご飯を食べないで大学に来ました。
Because I overslept, I came to university without eating breakfast.
- 予約しないでレストランに行ったら、レストランはいっぱいだった。
When I went to the restaurant without making a reservation, the restaurant was full.
When there are only two alternative actions, V1 and V2, this pattern expresses the occurrence of V2 instead of V1.
- 今日はさむいから、ねる前にシャワーをあびないでおふろに入ろうと思います。✅
Since it’s cold today, I want to take a bath instead of taking a shower before going to bed.
- たいてい晩ご飯を食べてから家に帰りますが、今日は食べないで帰ります。
I usually eat dinner and go home, but today I will go home without eating.
✅ The
入ろうと思う is a /volitional form of the verb + と思う/ pattern that expresses speaker's intention or determination to do something (i.e., "thinking of taking a bath").
See Lesson 17. |
In Lesson 12, we learned how to express statements said by other people, using an indirect quotation /plain pred + と言う/ pattern.
- せんぱいが山下先生のクラスはおもしろいと言っていました。
My senior student said that Prof. Yamashita’s classes were interesting.
- ルームメートは今日はアルバイトがないと言っていました。
My roommate said that he doesn't have a part-time job today.
In this lesson, we will learn how to embed a question within a sentence. The form used depends on whether the embedded question is a Wh-question (i.e., a question containing a question word such as 何, だれ, どこ, or いつ) or a Yes-No question.
Embedded Wh-questions
| Wh-Question (with plain-form) |
か |
predicate |
Embedded Yes-No questions
| Question (with plain-form) |
かどうか |
predicate |
When the predicate following the embedded question expresses the act of asking, the embedded question functions as an indirect quotation of a question. As with indirect quotations of statements, the tense of the embedded question remains the same as in the original question.
- ルームメートに今日は何時ごろに帰るか聞きました。
I asked my roommate what time they would come home today.
- 友だちに今日も図書館で勉強するかどうか聞きました。
I asked my friend whether they would study at the library today, too.
The predicate following an embedded question is not limited to verbs expressing the act of asking. Embedded questions are also commonly used with predicates expressing knowing, understanding, remembering, finding out, and similar meanings.
- 今日、田中さんが来るかどうか知っていますか。
Do you know whether Mr. Tanaka is coming today?
- おととい、何を着ていたかおぼえていません。
I don’t remember what I was wearing the day before yesterday.
When the predicate of an embedded question is a non-past affirmative な-adjective or noun, the copula だ is dropped before か or かどうか.
- これが何語か分かりません。(何語だ + か → 何語か)
I don’t know what language this is.
- スミスさんのアパートがしずかかどうか知りません。(しずかだ + かどうか → しずかかどうか)
I don’t know whether Mr./Ms. Smith’s apartment is quiet or not.
When question ending in ～んですか is embedded, the embedded question ends in のか(どうか).
- メアリーさんにどうしてきのうパーティーに来なかったのか聞きました。
I asked Mary why she didn't come to the party yesterday.
Please also note that the particle が (rather than は) is often used for the subject in the embedded questions.
- A: ささきさんがどこに住んでいるか教えて下さい。
Please tell me where Mr/s. Sasaki lives.
B: 私はささきさんがどこに住んでいるか知りません。
I don’t know where Mr/s. Sasaki is living now.
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This structure is used mainly to identify N by name and means “an N called/named X.” It can be used with both people and things, including places, organizations, stores, and other named entities.
- 三時ごろ山下という人から電話がありました。
There was a phone call around 3 o'clock from a person by the name Yamashita.
- 私はジョージア州のマリエッタという所に住んでいました。
I used to live in a place called Marietta, GA.
The name can also be questioned by replacing X with 何, producing 何という N, literally “an N called what?”
何というレストランが一番おいしいですか。
In this sentence, 何というレストラン (literally, “a restaurant called what”) is part of the larger question ～が一番おいしいですか (“which is the most delicious?”). A word-for-word translation such as “A restaurant called what is the most delicious?” is unnatural in English. Instead, the sentence must normally be rephrased:
What is the name of the restaurant that has the best food?
or
What is the best restaurant called?
Thus, 何という N does not always have a direct English equivalent. When translating it, it is often necessary to restructure the sentence while preserving the focus on the name of N. How do you ask the following questions in Japanese? Use the 何というX pattern.
- You want to know the name of anime someone likes the most.
⇒
何というアニメが一番好きですか。
- You want to know the name of university someone is studying at.
⇒
何という大学で勉強していますか。
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Please familiarize yourself with the following words and expressions:
The particle を in expressions such as この道をまっすぐ行く, ～のかどを左にまがる, つきあたりを右にまがる, and ～のしんごうを右にまがる above does not mark the direct object. Instead, it marks the path through which the subject moves. This type of を is also used with intransitive verbs like さんぽする (e.g. 時々家の近くのこうえんをさんぽする) and
通る (e.g. ここに来る時に小学校の前を通った).
この近くにコンビニがありますか。
Is there a convenience store nearby? |
ええ、この道をまっすぐ行って、二つ目のかどを左にまがったら、右に見えますよ。
Yes. If you go straight this way and turn left at the second corner, you will see it on your right. |
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You can express the idea that something is either "easy to do" or "difficult to do" by adding い-adjective ～やすい or ～にくい to a verb stem. The subject of this structure is not limited to the direct object of the verb. It may be a place, a tool, etc.
- このくつはとても歩きやすいです。
These shoes are very easy to walk in.
- 田中先生は話しやすいです。
Dr. Tanaka is easy to talk to.
- あの人の話は分かりにくいです。
That person’s talk is hard to comprehend.
- このコンピュータは使いにくいです。
This computer is difficult to use.
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FYI: There is another い-adjective ending, ～づらい, which can be attached to a verb stem to express the idea that something is difficult to do. This ～づらい expression is used when the difficulty arises from psychological reasons (e.g., この話は田中さんにちょっと言いづらい: This topic is a little difficult to talk about with Mr. Tanaka). The ～づらい comes from い-adjective つらい, which means psychologically painful. The following sentences illustrate the differences between ～にくい and ～づらい:
- この車はこわれにくい。
This car is hard to break down.
- ✽ この車はこわれづらい。 [Ungrammatical]
This car is uncomfortable to break down.
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The main difference is that ～にくい is used for describing objective difficulties in the nature of the action, while ～づらい is more personal and subjective, often involving the speaker's feelings about the difficulty. Therefore, こわれづらい is incorrect because the process of car's breaking down is an objective function of the car and not something affected by the speaker's feelings.
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