how to form basic verbs in keigo / 敬語の動詞の形
n.b.: if you don’t know the difference between 尊敬語 (sonkeigo) and 謙譲語 (kenjougo), or much about 敬語 (keigo) in general, i recommend a quick google search or glancing over an article like this one! also, i won’t be glossing any kanji, bc i’m lazy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
みなさん、お久しぶりですね！ today i’m going to guide you guys through the verb forms for japanese 敬語. 敬語 can be pretty tricky, but the rules for forming 敬語 verbs (like many rules in japanese) are actually quite consistent.
there are three 尊敬語 (honorific) forms i’m going to go over today: the Vください form, the Vになります form, and the “simple 尊敬語” form. i’ll also give a brief list of verbs that have specific forms in 尊敬語. after that, i’ll go over one 謙譲語 (humble) form, the Vします form, and then a list of 謙譲語-specific verb forms. さて、行きましょう！
this form is used to say “please” to a superior, but it doesn’t use the 〜て form like in 丁寧語. here’s how to form it with ichidan, godan, and する verbs.
ichidan/godan verbs: おVますください
this form is used as a more formal replacement for the usual Vます form, but shouldn’t be used with する verbs* OR verbs that have special forms in 敬語 (see below).
ichidan/godan verbs: おVますになります
書く → 書きます → この教科書は鈴木先生がお書きになりました
帰る → 帰ります → 何時にお帰りになりましたか
⭕️ ご説明なさいました・説明されました (see below)
*according to the textbook i’m using (see sources), these are incorrect. however, i have seen some posts online that say ごNになります is an acceptable form, so it’s not impossible you’ll see it in the wild (perhaps the times they are a-changing?).
尊敬語：簡単尊敬語 (aka the “active passive”)
have you ever seen a japanese verb in the passive and said to yourself, “actually that makes no sense at all”? it was probably one of these “simple 尊敬語” forms! they are used like the active voice but written like the passive, so you have to tell the difference from context. also, they are NOT used with ください.
読む → 読まない → 今朝の新聞を読まれましたか
this form is not quite as formal as おVになります, and it comes across as a little more friendly or “気軽,” so be careful when you use it. it might be more appropriate to use with strangers, for example, than with your boss.
尊敬語： verbs with special forms
some verbs are actually completely different in 敬語, for reasons probably more complicated than i care to find out (lol). here is a list of some common ones for 尊敬語!
行きます・来ます・います → いらっしゃいます・おいでになります
when speaking about your own actions to a superior, you can use this 謙譲語 form to be more humble and formal than you would be using Vます. this form isn’t used with verbs with special 謙譲語 forms.
ichidan/godan verbs: おVますします
説明する → 先生に新しいパソコンの使い方をご説明します
a quick note about this form: generally when using 謙譲語, it is common to omit 私が at the beginning of sentences/phrases, since you are already referring to yourself by using humble language anyway.
謙譲語： verbs with special forms
just like with 尊敬語, 謙譲語 has verbs whose forms change entirely. here are some of the most common ones!
言います → 申します (in 自己紹介)・申し上げます
知っています → 存じております (thing)・存じ上げております (person)
the examples in this post are mostly taken from the textbook 新にほんご敬語トレーニング, which i have started working with recently! expect more 敬語-related posts in the future :D
