Japanese Business Speech 敬語 (Keigo)┃Sonkeigo and Kenjougo

Today, we’re going to learn how to speak politely in Japanese. This is an important part of Japanese culture. If you ever work in Japan, you will talk politely to a lot of people, including your boss, your customers, and, if you’re dating a Japanese person, your boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents. So, if you’re ready to talk like a native Japanese speaker, let’s get started.

 

The Three Levels of Keigo

Until now, you have probably been using teineigo, the most basic form of keigo(敬語), or respectful language.

Keigo is used all the time in Japan. You will hear it all the time in restaurants or from anyone who works in customer service, and you need to learn it if you want to work in a Japanese company.

There are three levels of keigo:

丁寧語 ていねいご (teineigo)

謙譲語けんじょうご (kenjougo)

尊敬語そんけいご (sonkeigo)

The first level is teineigo, which is probably the form you used when you first started learning Japanese. When you use teineigo, you add ます(-masu) at the end of verbs and use です(desu) to express “is” or “to be”.

<noun/adj.>です。
<verb>ます。

これはペンです。
Kore wa pen desu.
This is a pen.

日本語にほんごを勉強べんきょうします。
Nihongo wo benkyou shimasu.
I study Japanese.

 

Using 謙譲語 (Kenjougo, or Humble Speech)

謙譲語けんじょうご(Kenjougo) is the humble form of keigo. It is used when you talk to:

• Your boss
• Your senpai (upperclassmen at school or co-workers who have worked at the company longer than you)
• Teachers
• Elders
• Strangers when you talk about yourself, your family, or your company

Using kenjougo makes you humble, so you use it when you talk about yourself, not the listener.

In Japanese culture, there is the concept of uchi and soto.

• Uchi (内) means “inside” and includes people in your social circle, such as you, your family, and your company.
• Soto (外) means “outside” and includes people like strangers, clients, your teacher, and your boss. This matters because you have to change how you speak depending on whether the person you’re speaking to is in or out of your social circle.

For example, suppose you have a landline in your home, and you get a phone call. The person on the other end asks for your mother:

お母かあさまはいらっしゃいますか。
O-kaa-sama wa irasshaimasu ka.
Is your mother there (home)?

母ははは今いまうちにおりません。
Haha wa ima uchi ni orimasen.
My mother is not home at the moment.

Here, the caller uses sonkeigo when talking about your mother, but you use kenjougo when you talk about your mother.

いらっしゃる (irassharu) = to be (sonkeigo)
お母かあさま(o-kaa-sama) = your mother (sonkeigo)

おる(oru) = to be (kenjougo)
母はは(haha) = mother (kenjougo)

いらっしゃる and おる mean the same thing, but いらっしゃる is used for people outside your circle (soto), in this case, the listener’s mother, and おる is used for people within your inner circle (uchi), like your own mother.

Just so you know, いらっしゃる and おる mean the same thing as いる(iru, to exist).

Teineigo:

母はははうちにいません。
Haha wa uchi ni imasen.
My mother is not home.

Kenjougo:

母はははうちにおりません
Haha wa uchi ni orimasen.
My mother is not home.

You may know the phrase いただきます(itadakimasu), which you say before you start eating a meal. The word actually means to eat, drink, or receive.

いただきます。
Itadakimasu.
Thank you for the meal. (lit. I will humbly eat/receive)

食たべます/ 飲のみます/ もらいます → いただきます
tabemasu / nomimasu / moraimasu → itadakimasu

You might have heard this phrase before when you met with your friends:

待またせてごめん！/ お待またせ！
Matasete gomen! / O-matase!
Sorry for making you wait!

待またせる → お待またせいたします
Mataseru → O-matase itashimasu
to make somebody wait

This is the humble version, which you often hear at restaurants:

お待またせいたしました。
O-matase itashimashita.
Thank you for waiting. (lit. I made you wait.)

いたします/いたす (itashimasu / itasu) = the humble way to say する(suru) or します(shimasu)

 

Using 尊敬語  (Sonkeigo, or Respectful Language)

Sonkeigo is the highest level of polite language. Because it is used to show respect, you don’t use sonkeigo to talk about yourself.

So when do you use sonkeigo? Well, it depends on what you’re talking about and whom you’re talking to.

• When you talk to people inside your circle (such as your siblings or co-workers), you use sonkeigo when you talk about your senpai, boss, elders, or teachers.
• When you talk to people outside your circle (such as customers or clients), you use sonkeigo when you talk about the listener and use kenjougo when you talk about anyone in your own circle.

Remember what I said about uchi and soto. When you’re talking to someone in your company or family, it is important to respect your boss or grandparents, but when you’re talking to a client or guest, it is more important to make the listener feel important.

 

Let’s go over two example scenarioes. Try reading through them once, then we’ll go over the expressions used.

Example 1

ファーストフードレストランで
Faasuto fuudo resutoran de.
At a fast food restaurant

いらっしゃいませ。
Irasshaimase.
Welcome!

店内てんないで召めし上あがりますか？(尊敬語)
Tennai de meshi agarimasu ka? (Sonkeigo)
Will you be dining in? (lit. inside the store)

持もち帰かえりで。
Mochi kaeri de.
To take away./ To go.

かしこまりました。(丁寧語)
Kashikomarimashita. (Teineigo)
I understand./ Certainly.

ご注文ちゅうもんをどうぞ。
Go-chuumon wo douzo.
May I take your order, please?

チーズバーガー一ひとつとポテトLです。
Chiizubaagaa hitotsu to poteto eru desu.
A cheeseburger and large fries, please.

お飲のみ物ものはいかがですか。
O-nomimono wa ikaga desu ka.
Would you like something to drink?

結構けっこうです。
Kekkou desu.
I’m good, thank you.

かしこまりました。
Kashikomarimashita.
All right./ I understand./ Certainly.

ご注文ちゅうもんを確認かくにんさせていただきます。(謙譲語)
Go-chuumon wo kakunin sasete itadakimasu. (Kenjougo)
Please let me repeat your order. (lit. I humbly ask that you let me double-check your order.)

チーズバーガーを一ひとつ、Lサイズのポテトを一ひとつ。
Chiizubaagaa wo hitotsu, eru saizu no poteto wo hitotsu.
A cheeseburger and a large fries.

ご注文ちゅうもんは以上いじょうでよろしいでしょうか。
Go-chuumon wa ijou de yoroshii deshou ka.
Will that be all? (lit. That’s all for your order, is that fine?)

はい。
Hai.
Yes.

お会計かいけいは690円えんでございます。(謙譲語)
O-kaikei wa roppyaku kyuu juu en de gozaimasu. (Kenjougo)
Your bill is 690 yen.

1000円えんお預あずかりいたします。(謙譲語)
Sen en o-azukari itashimasu. (Kenjougo)
Out of 1000 yen, (lit. I humbly take 1000 yen)

310円えんお返こしいたします。
Sanbyaku o-kaeshi itashimasu.
310 yen is your change. (lit. I humbly return 310 yen)

レシートでございます。(謙譲語)
Reshiito de gozaimasu. (Kenjougo)
Here’s your receipt.

こちらで少々しょうしょうお待まちください。(尊敬語)
Kochira de shou shou o-machi kudasai.
Please wait a moment over here.

Example 2

レストランで
Resutoran de
At a restaurant

いらっしゃいませ！
Irasshaimase!
Welcome!

何名様なんめいさまでしょうか。
Nan-mei-sama deshou ka.
How many people?

二人ふたりです。
Futari desu.
Two.

二名様にめいさまですね。
Ni-mei-sama desu ne.
Two, (all right).

お席せきにご案内あんないいたします。
O-seki ni go-annai itashimasu.
Let me show you to your seat.

メニューでございます。
Menyuu de gozaimasu. 
Here’s the menu.

失礼しつれいいたします。
Shitsurei itashimasu.
Excuse me./ I’m sorry to interrupt you.

ご注文ちゅうもんを伺うかがいます。
Go-chuumon wo ukagaimasu.
May I take your order? (lit. I’ll humbly ask you your order.)

はい、カツカレーを一ひとつお願ねがいします。
Hai, katsukaree wo hitotsu o-negai shimasu.
Yes, may I have a katsu curry, please.

お飲物のみはいかがですか。
O-nomimono wa ikaga desu ka.
Would you like something to drink?

生なまビール一ひとつ。
Nama biiru hitotsu.
A beer on tap, please.

ご注文ちゅうもんを確認かくにんさせていただきます。
Go-chuumon wo kakunin sasete itadakimasu.
Please let me repeat your order. (lit. I humbly ask you to let me double check your order.)

カツカレーを一ひとつと生なまビールを一ひとつ。
Katsu karee wo hitotsu to nama biiru wo hitotsu.
A katsu curry and a draft beer.

以上いじょうでよろしいでしょうか。
Ijou de yoroshii deshou ka.
Will that be all?

はい。
Hai.
Yes.

お待またせいたしました。
O-matase itashimashita.
Thank you for waiting! (lit. I made you wait.)

こちら、カツカレーでございます。
Kochira, katsukaree de gozaimasu.
Here is your katsu curry.

申もうし訳わけありません。
Moushi wake arimasen.
I’m sorry.

お支払しはらいはレジでお願ねがいいたします。
O-shiharai wa reji de onegai itashimasu.
We humbly ask you to pay at the cashier.

お会計かいけいは3400円えんでございます。
O-kaikei wa sanzen yonhyaku en de gozaimasu.
Your bill is 3400 yen.

またのご来店らいてんお待まちしております。
Mata no go-raiten o-machi shiteorimasu.
We look forward (lit. are waiting) for your next visit.

 

Now that we have gone over the examples, let’s take a closer look at the phrases used.

いらっしゃる(irassharu) = formal version of いる, to be (somewhere)

いらっしゃいませ(irasshaimase) = Welcome! (lit. Come in)

行いきます/来きます/います = いらっしゃいます

店内てんないで召し上あがりますか？
Tennai de meshi agarimasu ka? 
Will you be dining in? (lit. inside the store)

食たべます/飲のみます = 召めし上あがります
tabemasu/nomimasu = meshi agarimasu 
to eat/drink

* If you go to a restaurant, you might hear お召し上がりですか. This is fairly common, even among Japanese people, but it is grammatically wrong.

❌ お召し上がりですか。
O-meshi agari desu ka.

⭕️ 召し上がりますか。
Meshi agarimasu ka.

 

Changing Verbs into Sonkeigo

Some verbs have special forms when using sonkeigo, such as the aforementioned 召し上がる and いらっしゃる. You can make many other verbs more formal by adding お at the beginning and になります (ni narimasu) at the end.

お + <masu stem> + になります
o + <masu stem> + ni narimasu

書かく → お書かきになります
kaku → o-kaki ni narimasu
to write → (somebody) writes

書かきますか → お書かきになりますか。
kakimasu ka → o-kaki ni narimasu ka.
Will/Do you write? → Will/Do you write? (extra formal/business speech)

You will add お and ご to a lot of words when talking about someone else’s actions using keigo.

お持もち帰かえり
o-mochi kaeri
takeaway

ご注文ちゅうもんがお決きまりになりましたら、そちらのボタンでお呼よびください。
Go-chuumon ga o-kimari ni narimashitara, sochira no botan de o-yobi kudasai.
When you are ready to order, please call us with that button.

決きまる → お決きまりになります → お決きまりになりましたら
kimaru → o-kimaru ni narimasu ka → o-kimari ni narimashitara
to decide → you decide → when/if you decide

待まってください → お待まちください
matte kudasai → o-mochi kudasai
Please wait → Please kindly wait. (sonkeigo)

When you tell your client or boss to wait in a business situation, you might say:

こちらにおかけになって、お待まちください。
Kochira ni o-kake ni natte, o-machi kudasai.
Please kindly take a seat and wait here.

こちら(kochira) = a formal way to say ここ(koko, here).
おかけになる (o-kake ni naru) = a formal way to say 座る(suwaru, to sit).

お座すわりください。
O-suwari kudasai.
Please take a seat.

This wasn’t used in the example scenarioes, but you should also remember to use なさいます(nasaimasu) in place of します(shimasu)

します = なさいます
shimasu = nasaimasu
to do

〜してください = 〜なさってください
〜shite kudasai = 〜nasatte kudasai (sonkeigo)
Please do〜

 

More Kenjougo

Now, let’s review some of the kenjougo used in the example scenarioes.

As I mentioned earlier, いたします(itashimasu) is the more humble way to say します(shimasu).

二名様にめいさまですね。お席せきにご案内あんないいたします。
Ni-mei-sama desu ne. O-seki ni go-annai itashimasu.
Two, (all right). Let me show you to your seat.

お + <masu stem form> + します/いたします
o + <masu stem form> + shimasu/itashimasu

お/ご + <noun> + します/いたします
o/go + <noun> + shimasu/itashimasu

すぐに新あたらしいものをお持まちいたします。
Sugu ni atarashii mono wo o-mochi itashimasu.
I will bring you a new one right away.

持もちます → 持もってきます → お持もちいたします
Mochimasu → motte kimasu → o-mochi itashimasu
I will hold → I will bring → I will hold/bring (your…)

お手伝てつだいいたします。
O-tetsudai itashimasu.
I’ll help you.

させていただきます (sasete itadakimasu) is used often in kenjougo. As I mentioned earlier, いただきます means to eat, drink, or receive. させて(sasete) is added after a verb when you want to make or let someone do something.

Together, they may seem long and complicated, but they basically mean “I will do 〜”

〜させていただきます
〜sasete itadakimasu
Allow me to〜 / I will humbly receive permission from you to 〜

ご注文ちゅうもんを確認かくにんさせていただきます。
Go-chuumon wo kakunin sasete itadakimasu.
Please let me repeat your order / I will repeat your order.

Be careful of when you use お and ご. Generally, you put お before any wa-go, or native Japanese words, and ご before any kan-go, or words that originated from Chinese.

お水みず
o-mizu
water

お茶ちゃ*
o-cha
tea

お花はな
o-hana
flower

お金かね
o-kane
money

お寺てら
o-tera
temple

お席せき
o-seki
seat

お時間じかん
o-jikan
time

*お茶 is an exception that originates from Chinese even though it uses お.

ご注文ちゅうもん
go-chuumon
order

ご注意ちゅうい
go-chuui
attention

ご理解りかい
go-rikai
understanding

ご案内あんない
go-annai
guidance

 

Other Important Words in Keigo

Kenjougo Words

伺うかがう(ukagau) = a more formal version of 聞く(kiku, to ask)

質問しつもんを伺うかがいます = 質問しつもんを聞ききます
Shitsumon wo ukagaimasu = Shitsumon wo kikimasu
to ask a question

ご注文ちゅうもんを伺うかがいます。
Go-chuumon wo ukagaimasu.

質問しつもんを伺うかがってもよろしいでしょうか。
Shitsumon wo ukagatte mo yoroshii deshou ka.
May I ask you a question? (lit. Is it okay if I ask you a question?)

でございます = である/です
degozaimasu = de aru / desu
to be

レシートでございます。
Reshiito degozaimasu.
Here’s your receipt.

こちら、カツカレーでございます。
Kochira, katsu karee degozaimasu.
Here’s your katsu curry.

母ははでございます。
Haha degozaimasu.
This is my mother.

Sonkeigo Words

でいらっしゃいます = です
de irasshaimasu = desu
to be

でしょうか = ですか
deshou ka = desu ka
Is it…? / Are you…?

よろしいでしょうか = いいですか
Yoroshii deshou ka. = Ii desu ka.
Is it okay?

ご注文ちゅうもんは以上いじょうでよろしいでしょうか。
Go-chuumon wa ijou de yoroshii deshou ka.
Will that be all? (lit. That’s all for your order, is that fine?)

申もうし訳わけ = 言いい訳わけ
moushi wake = ii wake
excuse

申もうし訳わけありません。
Moushi wake arimasen.
I’m very sorry. (teineigo)

申もうし訳わけございません。
Moushi wake gozaimasen.
I’m very sorry. (kenjougo)

大変申たいへんもうし訳わけ　ありません/ございません。
Taihen moushi wake arimasen / gozaimasen.
I’m terribly sorry.

大変たいへん (taihen) = terribly

 

That wraps up our lesson for today. Let’s go over some general guidelines to remember:

• There are three levels of keigo: teineigo, kenjougo, and sonkeigo. You use them depending on whether the person you’re talking to is within your social circle (uchi) or outside your circle (soto).
• Kenjougo makes you humble, so use it when you talk about yourself.
• Sonkeigo shows respect, so use it when you talk to someone outside your circle, or if you’re talking to someone within your circle, when you talk about an elder or superior.
• Some verbs have special forms when you use kenjougo or sonkeigo, such as おる(kenjougo) and いらっしゃる (sonkeigo).
• When you use sonkeigo, you can make some verbs more formal by adding お at the beginning and になります (ni narimasu) at the end.
• When you use kenjougo, you can make some verbs more humble by adding お and いたします (itashimasu) or by adding させていただきます (sasete itadakimasu).
• Some words take an お before it, while others take a ご, depending on whether they originated from Japanese or Chinese.

That was a lot of information and complex words! It’s okay if you feel overwhelmed. Memorize a little bit at a time and try using the phrases by yourself.

Don’t worry about classifying each phrase as kenjougo or sonkeigo. Just go over the example sentences again and memorize each phrase and when to use them. Keep practicing, and they will slowly come to you naturally. Soon, you’ll sound more like a native Japanese!