Japanese politeness

What is keigo?

Keigo (敬語) is the politeness of Japanese: the words and endings that change with who you are talking to, and who you are talking about. It is why the same question can be said three different ways, and why getting the level right matters more than getting every word right.

Three levels: casual, polite, keigo

Learners usually meet Japanese at three levels. Which one you use depends on who you are talking to: how well you know them, how senior they are, and whether you are in a formal setting.

casual
Plain form (タメ口). With friends, family, and people your own age or younger. Verbs end as in the dictionary: 食たべる, 行いく.
polite
です and ます (丁寧語). The default with strangers, neighbors, coworkers, and anyone you do not know well. 食たべます, 行いきます. If you learn only one level, learn this one.
keigo
Respectful and humble forms (尊敬語 and 謙譲語). With clients, customers, and people senior to you at work. 召めし上あがる, いただく.

Strictly speaking, the polite です and ます style is itself one of the three kinds of keigo, along with the respectful and humble forms below. In everyday talk about learning Japanese, “keigo” usually means the step above it, which is how this guide uses the word.

The same thing at each level

Meaning	Casual	Polite	Keigo
Are you coming tomorrow?	明日あした来くる？	明日あした来きますか。	明日あしたいらっしゃいますか。
I'll check.	確認かくにんする。	確認かくにんします。	確認かくにんいたします。
Please wait a moment.	ちょっと待まって。	少すこし待まってください。	少々しょうしょうお待まちください。
I'm sorry.	ごめん。	すみません。	申もうし訳わけございません。

Respectful and humble: two directions

Keigo works in two directions, and the difference is the heart of it. Respectful language (尊敬語) raises the other person: it is used for what they do. Humble language (謙譲語) lowers you: it is used for what you do, for their sake. Both add respect, but you never swap them. Saying that you yourself いらっしゃる (respectful “come”) would be praising your own action.

The most common verbs have their own forms, and they are worth learning as a set, since the forms do not follow a pattern.

Meaning	Plain	Respectful (their action)	Humble (your action)
go, come	行いく・来くる	いらっしゃる	参まいる・伺うかがう
be, be there	いる	いらっしゃる	おる
say	言いう	おっしゃる	申もうす
do	する	なさる	いたす
eat, drink	食たべる・飲のむ	召めし上あがる	いただく
see	見みる	ご覧らんになる	拝見はいけんする
know	知しっている	ご存ぞんじだ	存ぞんじている
meet	会あう	お会あいになる	お目めにかかる
ask, hear	聞きく	お聞ききになる	伺うかがう

Every other verb can be made respectful or humble with a pattern:

Respectful: お待まちになる (お + stem + になる), or the passive form, 待またれる. For nouns, ご説明せつめいになる (ご + noun + になる).
Humble: お持もちする and お送おくりいたします (お + stem + する or いたす), and ご連絡れんらくいたします for nouns.
Honorific nouns: お and ご go on the other person's things: お名前なまえ, ご住所じゅうしょ, お時間じかん.

Inside and outside: whose side you are on

Keigo follows your group as well as rank. To someone outside your company, you speak humbly even about your own boss, because from the outside, your side is “us”. A receptionist takes a call for the department head and says 部長ぶちょうの田中たなかは席せきを外はずしております。 (“Tanaka, our department head, has stepped away from his desk”), with no さん or 様 after the name and a humble verb, since to the caller Tanaka is “us”. Among Tanaka's own colleagues, the sentence would change. Getting this wrong is one of the most common slips, and one of the most noticed.

Set phrases worth knowing

Much of keigo in daily life is a short list of fixed phrases, heard at work, in shops, and on the phone.

いらっしゃいませ。Welcome.What staff say as you come into a shop or restaurant.
かしこまりました。Certainly.Staff or a junior colleague, accepting a request.
承知しょうちいたしました。Understood.Replying to a client or your manager.
少々しょうしょうお待まちください。Please wait a moment.At a counter or on the phone.
お世話せわになっております。Thank you for your continued support.The opening of a business call or email.
恐おそれ入いります。Excuse me; I'm grateful and sorry to trouble you.Asking a favor, or thanking someone for one.
申もうし訳わけございません。I'm very sorry.An apology to a customer or client.
よろしくお願ねがいいたします。I look forward to working with you; please take care of this.Closing a request, or meeting a client.
失礼しつれいいたします。Excuse me.Entering a room, leaving it, or hanging up a business call.

Mistakes to avoid

Respectful for yourself. To say you will go, use 参まいります, not いらっしゃいます.
Stacking forms (二重敬語). お召めし上あがりになられる piles two respectful forms on one verb. One is enough: 召めし上あがる.
“Understood” to a superior. 了解りょうかい sounds casual. To a client or manager, say 承知しょうちいたしました or かしこまりました.
Thanking a superior for their work. ご苦労くろう様さまです is for someone junior to you. Upward, it is お疲つかれ様さまです.
Keigo with friends. It is not a compliment there. Using it with someone close sounds cold, so keep it for when it counts.

Hear the difference in real lines

These are the opening lines of three scenes in Unsubtitled, at three levels. Same app, three different people, and a different Japanese for each.

casualMei, with a friend at lunch
ねえ、何なににする？ここの味噌みそラーメン、すごくおいしいよ！
Hey, what are you getting? The miso ramen here is really good!
- Plain forms all the way: 何にする？ (“what are you having?”) with no です or ます, and the casual ねえ and よ.
- This is how you talk with friends and family. To a stranger or a boss, it would sound rude.
politeYoko, on your first day at work
おはようございます。今日きょうから同おなじチームですね。わからないことは何なんでも聞きいてください。
Good morning. We're on the same team from today. Ask me anything you're not sure about.
- です and ます throughout (おはようございます, 同じチームですね): polite, but not keigo.
- 聞いてください is an ordinary polite request. It is what you hear from a colleague and say back to one.
formalKenji, at a sales meeting
本日ほんじつはお時間じかんをいただき、ありがとうございます。さくら食品しょくひんの山本やまもとと申もうします。
Thank you for making time for me today. I'm Yamamoto, from Sakura Foods.
- いただき is the humble form of “receive”: Kenji lowers himself to thank his client for their time.
- 申します is the humble form of “say”, the standard way to give your name in business: 山本と申します, not 山本です.
- ございます is the formal form of あります, which turns ありがとう into ありがとうございます.

Try it out loud

Reading keigo is one thing, and saying it to someone who answers is another. In Unsubtitled you can talk with Kenji at the sales meeting, Yoko on your first day, and Mei over ramen, each at their own level, out loud, with furigana and a translation until you no longer need them.

Start talking

Questions about keigo

Do I need keigo as a visitor to Japan?

No. Polite です and ます Japanese is enough for shops, trains, restaurants, and hotels, and nobody expects a visitor to use keigo. What helps is recognizing it, because staff will use it with you: いらっしゃいませ, かしこまりました, and 少々お待ちください are all keigo.

Is keigo only for business?

It is most at home there, but it is not only there. Shops and restaurants use it with customers, hotels with guests, and people use it with someone much older, or someone they have just met in a formal setting, such as a teacher, a doctor, or a landlord. With friends and family, the same speech sounds distant.

Do Japanese people make mistakes with keigo?

All the time. Companies run keigo training for new hires because even native speakers have to learn it, and getting a form slightly wrong is common. Using it at the right level, warmly, matters more than using every form perfectly.

What is the difference between 丁寧語, 尊敬語, and 謙譲語?

丁寧語 (teineigo) is the polite style, with です, ます, and ございます. 尊敬語 (sonkeigo) is respectful language for what the other person does. 謙譲語 (kenjōgo) is humble language for what you do. Together they are what is called keigo.

More about the app is on the home page, and the support page answers questions about using it.