In Japanese society people are "ranked" based on their age, job or grade level, and other criteria. The Japanese language reflects this: there is a sophisticated grammatical system in place as well as a specialized vocabulary able to express ample nuances of politeness. This is called the honorifics system.
Verbs (動詞 - Doushi)
editJapanese has three different ways to express formality in verbs: the plain form (くだけた, kudaketa, "chatty" or "impolite"), the simple polite form (ていねい, teinei, "polite") and the advanced polite form (敬語, keigo, "honorific language"). Kudaketa verbs build off the dictionary form of a verb. Teinei verbs build off the stem of a verb + ma + the tense endings. Keigo is usually formed by archaic or highly irregular verbs that can be divided into two further groups: 尊敬語, sonkeigo, or honorific, and 謙譲語, kenjougo, or humble language. Sonkeigo" is an honorific way of speaking in which you elevate the rank of the person you're speaking to or about way above your own. Kenjougo is a humble way of speaking in which you humble yourself or lower your rank below the person you're speaking to.
Below is a chart comparing kudaketa verbs to teinei verbs.
| Kudaketa/Plain Form | Teinei/Polite Form | Tense | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 食べる
taberu |
食べます
tabemasu |
nonpast | eat |
| 食べない
tabenai |
食べません
tabemasen |
nonpast negative | do not eat |
| 食べた
tabeta |
食べました
tabemashita |
past | ate |
| 食べなかった
tabenakatta |
食べませんでした
tabemasen-deshita |
past negative | did not eat |
| 食べろ
tabero |
食べなさい
tabenasai |
imperative | eat |
| 食べよう
tabeyou |
食べましょう
tabemashou |
volitional | let's eat |
| 食べて
tabete |
食べまして
tabemashite* |
conjunctive | (See note below) |
| 食べれば
tabereba |
食べますれば
tabemasureba* |
conditional | If...eats |
* These forms are not used commonly. Usually, the plain forms of the conjunctive and conditional tenses would be used.
On the conjunctive, also known as the "-te form:" This is used as a variety of tenses but mainly when several verbs come in succession of each other (私はピザを食べて、眠りました。 - Watashi wa piza wo tabete, nemurimashita. - I ate pizza, then slept.)
Regular Keigo Verb Forms
| 丁寧 Teinei | 謙譲語 kenjougo (humble) | 尊敬語 sonkeigo (polite) |
|---|---|---|
| Vstem+ます
stem+masu |
お+Vstem+します
o+stem+shimasu |
お+Vstem+になります
o+stem+ninarimasu |
| 待ちます
machimasu |
おまちします
omachishimasu |
おまちになります
omachininarimasu |
| 作ります
tsukurimasu |
おつくりします
otsukurishimasu |
おつくりになります
otsukurininarimasu |
| 教えます
oshiemasu |
おおしえします
ooshieshimasu |
おおしえになります
ooshieninarimasu |
| 書きます
kakimasu |
おかきします
okakishimasu |
おかきになります
okakininarimasu |
Irregular Keigo Verb Forms
| 丁寧 Teinei | 謙譲語 kenjougo (humble) | 尊敬語 sonkeigo (polite) |
|---|---|---|
| 言います
iimasu |
申します
moushimasu |
おっしゃいます
osshaimasu |
| 食べます tabemasu 飲みます nomimasu |
いただきます
itadakimasu |
めしあがります
meshiagarimasu |
| 行きます ikimasu 来ます kimasu |
まいります
mairimasu |
いらっしゃいます irasshaimasu おいでになります oideninarimasu |
| います
imasu |
おります
orimasu |
いらっしゃいます irasshaimasu おいでになります oideninarimasu |
| N+です
N+desu |
N+でございます
N+degozaimasu |
N+でいらっしゃいます
N+deirasshaimasu |
| します
shimasu |
いたします
itashimasu |
なさいます
nasaimasu |
| 知っています
shitteimasu |
ぞんじています or 存じております
zonjiteimasu or zojiteorimasu |
ごぞんじです or ご存知でいらっしゃいます
gozonjidesu or gozonjideirasshaimasu |
| 願います
negaimasu |
おねがいします or お願いいたします
onegaishimasu or onegaiitashimasu |
----- |
| 聞きます
kikimasu |
伺います(うかがいます)
ukagaimasu |
------ |
| 会います
aimasu |
おめにかかります
omenikakarimasu |
------ |
| 見ます
mimasu |
拝見します
haikenshimasu |
御覧になります
goranninarimasu |
The おいでになります oideninarimasu comes from the regular forms above applied to the old verb いづ izu (= modern 出る deru).
Honorifics (敬語 - Keigo)
editA variety of ways can be employed to make words polite or impolite. One way that can be used is simply choosing a certain word (i.e., instead of using あなた (anata) to refer to the second person, one can use their name) or employ the usage of special affixes. Notably one of the most common is -さん (-san), used to denote something like Mr./Mrs./Ms. onto a name. A list of affixes is below.
| Affix | Romaji | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| お- | o- | Honorific title used on words of typically Japanese origin or other titles |
| ご- | go- | Honorific title used on words of typically foreign origin |
| -さん | -san | Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss |
| -ちゃん | -chan | Used to denote familiarity or a kind of cuteness |
| -君 (-くん) | -kun | Used to denote someone of lower rank or a small level of impoliteness |
| -後輩 (-こうはい) | -kohai | Used to denote someone of a lower grade than the speaker ('underclassman')* |
| -先輩 (-せんぱい) | -senpai | Used to denote someone of a higher grade than the speaker ('upperclassman') |
| -様 (-さま) | -sama | Used to denote someone of royalty or godhood |
* -こうはい (kohai) is rarely used as an affix. Most people in a senpai position would use -くん (kun) instead.
Note that -くん (kun) is a somehow (not strictly, just more often) preferred affix speaking to or between boys (although boyfriends are sometimes addressed with -ちゃん). Girls tend to use -ちゃん (chan) in a similar manner, although -くん (kun) is also used sometimes. Unlike -さん (san) which is commonly used with a family name, these two affixes can also be used with given names (moreover, the name used may be shortened in front of these two affixes).
-さま (sama) is also commonly used when addressing customers