a short introduction to keigo (aka I'm learning keigo and taking notes)
what is keigo?
Keigo is honorific Japanese. It ranges from polite to super-polite.
when is keigo used?
All the time! It's used by public-facing workers, from folks at McDonalds and 7-Eleven to politicians speaking to constituents to nurses speaking to patients. It's used within companies to speak to your work superiors, bosses, supervisors, and groups of colleagues. It's used when you speak with clients or to employees from other companies. It's used in television and books. It's used to make annoucements at train and bus stations, in airports, during public events, etc. And it's used to pray, whether you're at a church or at a shrine.
Keigo is common!
why does keigo need to be studied? after all, other languages also have politeness registers, but students don't specifically study this too often.
(1) Keigo is formalized. Many phrases are set in stone, with little variation in many contexts. Studying keigo-specific phrases will both increase your comprehension and allow you to speak confidently in a wide variety of social situations.
(2) Keigo has a lot of nuance that is quite different from how English operates, so it's easy to make mistakes. If you want to actually know how to convey what you want to express, you need to study keigo to know which words to use when.
Storytime:
My American friend was working in a Japanese office. One day, the office was empty except for him, and the phone rang. He picked up. It was a client company on the other line. My friend had a high level of Japanese, which was why he felt confident enough to answer the phone in the first place, but he didn't know keigo. He thought he got through the phone call fine.
Later that day, he was called into his boss's office. Turned out the client had mistaken him for a native Japanese speaker, and they were incredibly angry that he'd picked up the phone and hadn't spoken keigo. They felt insulted and gave his boss an earful.
Luckily for my friend's company, the client calmed down and found it funny once it was explained that it'd been an American who'd picked up the phone. However, my friend's boss banned him from ever answering the phone again.
When you use keigo incorrectly, you might insult someone. But the truth is, it mostly just makes you look goofy. Using it poorly or not using it at all highlights the fact that you're a foreigner, and it might make people wonder whether you're actually suited to work culture in Japan. How was my friend supposed to negotiate a pay raise, for example, after he'd been marked as the employee who couldn't be trusted to answer the phone? He couldn't, honestly, and he left Japan instead of making a life here.
Hard truths, but c'est la vie.
how many kinds of keigo are there?
There are 5 kinds of keigo. Can you name them? I'll list them at the bottom of this post.
tell me about one (1) kind of keigo.
Will do! Sonkeigo (尊敬語) is used to show respect and elevate the listener. You use it when speaking to people who are older than you, to your boss, and to strangers/acquaintances with whom you'd like to maintain a polite distance. You can use it to write emails to professors and to offer your seat to an elderly person on the bus.
give me an example of sonkeigo.
The verb suru becomes nasaru, so you might ask your friend: スポーツ(を)する？or (more polite): スポーツをしていますか？
But you could make chitchat with your boss by saying, スポーツをなさいますか？or (more polite): 何かスポーツをなさっていますか？
Kinds of keigo below:
尊敬語、そんけいご
謙譲語、けんじょうご
丁重語、ていちょうご
丁寧語、ていねいご
美化後、びかご
I'll explain simply what these all are in other posts if anyone's interested enough.
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I'm studying for a Japanese exam. But it's for work so I'm facing the recurring issue of "Is this formal enough?"
Like, I know the grammar and vocabulary of my sentences are mostly correct, but would using them offend a Japanese passenger? That, I have no idea. -sigh-
Keigo will be my death istg.
you think I don't mean my words?
keigo takami x f!reader
MHA: one shots part 5
SUMMARY: being Keigo Takami’s best friend means dealing with his fans, his ego, and the way he casually acts like you’re his. it’s always brushed off as a joke, something he says for the crowd, until you finally snap and call him out for it. but for the first time, he doesn’t laugh it off. because while everything else might be an act, the way he feels about you never was.
CONTENT: pro hero au, fluff, friends to lovers, soft Keigo, comfort giver Keigo, hugging, happy ending, banter, slight angst.
WORDCOUNT: 1214
WARNING: this doesn't follow the original plot line of MHA, there may be grammar and spelling mistakes since English isn't my first language, based on a head canon. it's a little rushed, pls forgive mee. my sister made me write the last hashtag btw... holy mischaracterization.
have a fun reading y'all💛
The chantings and shouts fill the streets as you walk beside Keigo, aka Hawks, your best friend. His hands are stretched behind his neck while walking around with a lazy smirk on his face.
He has always been this confident and proud about his achievements. Even you, who have known him for quite a while now, have never seen him be humble about his achievements or quirk. But you never try to intervene with it because you know he'll end the conversation with a simple smirk.
Once he was able to reach the hardest in such a young age, girls found it easier to fall for his careless act and classic smirks even when he was fighting a top notch villain.
And you know all of this in a very detailed way because while these were happening, you were right by his side. Keigo used to always sign autographs while you were waiting with a villain in surrender.
Being a popular pro-hero specifically amongst young girls may not tire him, but it sure is tiring you. Every time you go out to patrol with him, his fans screaming louder than a tire screeching. There was one time when a girl asked him who you are, when your rank is almost the same as his.
"Your fan girls are all over you again." You say with a roll of your eyes just when a girl fell from screaming his name. He shrugs lazily while grinning at you after another successful mission.
Keigo winks and waves his hand at some girls with a smile before turning to you again. "You can't blame them for knowing who to fan over."
"You guys look really cute together!" A girl yells from the crowd, causing both of you to turn your head in sync and then look at each other in a slight shock. His hand has never been this fast to grab your shoulder, throwing an arm around you and pulling you closer to him.
"What can I say? My mission in life has always been to look cute with my girl here." He replies sarcastically to the girl as his hand squeezes and rubs your shoulder. He pulls you in closer to press his cheek against you while smirking. You can hear the sudden screams after his response. You guys continue walking through the car-free street, the crowd doesn't seem to end somehow.
You can't help but roll your eyes again. You always end up rolling them whenever you're with him because of his behavior towards you.
Keigo turns to face you again only to raise his brows in surprise. "Whatcha looking at me like that?" He shakes his head and raises his hand to show he is 'innocent.'
You give him a bored look, your arms are crossed, not showing him any sign of closeness you would usually show. His hand gives your shoulder a slight squeeze again to make you talk. "It's nothing.." you say, shaking your head as you guys finally reach the UA building.
Keigo doesn't probably notice what he is doing but whenever you guys are outside, whenever you win something, he becomes more affectionate in public. He treats you as if you guys are a couple and there have been several times when he didn't correct people who assumed you guys were dating.
"Oh come on, you can't just leave me all curious." His hand that's wrapped around your shoulder finds your cheek and pokes it to get your attention.
"Fine, you wanna know why I'm acting so bored and grumpy?" You say as you pull away and gently shoving his hand away. "I am done with you acting like we are dating in front of people, like I'm your girlfriend. You always say things you never mean and I'm done with it. "
He genuinely looks flabbergasted, a rare sight coming from him. You stand in the empty lobby of UA with your arms uncrossed this time. "You think I don't mean my words?" He asks.
"I think? I know, Keigo. You don't mean a single word that comes out of your mouth, especially in front of your little fan girls. I am done with this act."
His eyes can't find yours this time, unable to look at you after your words. It's almost like he feels guilty and hurt. "I don't do acts.." He mutters under his breath. You have never seen him look guilty or sound small.
His wings closes behind his back, no longer showing off his red feathers. "Don't do acts? Then what are those, Keigo? Am I schizophrenic or something?"
He clasps his hands together in front of his face, pressing the sides against his mouth before pointing at you with the tip of his fingers. He inhales sharply before narrowing his eyes. "Never said that but might check that out once you have time."
Just when you are about to scoff and say something else, he interrupts you by grabbing your shoulders. "I mean it when I say I don't do those things. I know I don't sound very trustworthy when saying that, I mean I wouldn't trust me too if I were you but don't let that one get into your mind. You should trust me with this one."
You withdraw with a head move as you furrow your brows in confusion at his words. "I mean 99.9% of my words when I'm near you." Keigo says as he gently shakes your shoulders.
"What? Do you really expect me to believe you when you say you mean it when you say your mission in life is to be cute with your girl, who is me?" You ask as you cross your arms, your nose scrunches.
"Those are the facts, trust me."
"You know that you can't expect me to trust you when you tell me you also wouldn't be trusting you if you were me, right?" You raise a brow as you lean your weight on one hip.
"Now, you can trust me. Because I mean it. I do!" He points a finger at his chest before speaking again in a much more frustrated tone. "I'm not that much of a liar when it comes to my feelings for your oblivious ass!" Keigo jabs his finger at you this time and pokes your chest.
"Feelings? Don't lie to me, you wouldn't have feelings for me." Your words causes him to roll his eyes and scoff at you before grabbing your wrist and pulling you closer.
The second you are closer, his arm wraps around your waist and his lips meet yours. The kiss is soft even though he aches to give more. His hand flexes on your back before making a fist over your hero costume. Your eyes widen in shock before closing shut.
You have never imagined his lips to be this gentle against yours, not like you ever imagined his lips against yours.
You know that's a lie tho.
Even after seconds, he doesn't pull away. He moves his lips against yours to give a deeper and slower kiss before eventually pulling away, only enough to look at your face.
"See? I do mean them. So don't doubt my words when I say my mission in life is to be with you."
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