”I don’t understand Keigo at all!”
Many Japanese learners might find it hard to understand Keigo (honorific expressions).
However, it is not only Japanese learners who are struggling with Keigo. Many Japanese people also feel that they are not good at Keigo.
Today let’s study together just three Keigo (honorifics) commonly used by the Japanese!
Contents
What is Keigo in the first place?
Japanese people value vertical relationships in their daily lives.
Therefore, we use Keigo as a polite expression for people who are older than you, have a higher position than you have, or when you meet someone for the first time.
It’s hard to explain all about Keigo in this email, so if you’d like to learn more about them, we recommend you take a lesson at our school!
Today, I’ll share only three Keigo we often use with you.
1. いらっしゃいます = いく(go) / くる (come)
The Keigo of いく “go” and くる “come” is いらっしゃいます.
いらっしゃいます is used when the other person is superior to you.
Example Sentence
せんせい、今度(こんど) わたしの家(いえ)にいらっしゃいませんか？
Sensei, would you like to come to my home in the future?
2. おっしゃる = いう (say)
The Keigo of いう” say” is おっしゃる.
おっしゃる is also used when the other party is superior.
Example Sentence
すみません。今(いま) なんとおっしゃいましたか？
Excuse me. May I ask what you just said?
3. ごらんになる = みる (look, see, watch)
The Keigo of みる “look, see, watch” is ごらんになる.
Example Sentence
こちらをごらんください。
Please take a look.
How was the Keigo this time?
Keigo is indeed difficult to learn, but if you do not master it well when you come to Japan, you might be seen as impolite by Japanese people.
If you’d like to be able to speak Japanese fluently, we recommend this post below
