Questions tagged [honorifics]
Affixes, particles and conjugations applied to words to mark respect.
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Using 尊敬語 and 謙譲語 without 丁寧語?
When talking to a close friend you don't use 丁寧語 with, but you talk about somebody like your teacher. Would you then use 尊敬語 forms but without 丁寧語. Something like,
"あした、先生は召し上がる."
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Why not お水【みず】?
Today's online edition of the Asahi had a sentence about drinking water, but it used 水【みず】 instead of お水【みず】, although the context is specifically about drinking water. Why?
蛇口【じゃぐち】をひねれば、すぐに水【みず】が飲【の】...
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でございます for a respected person
According to all dictionaries and most grammar books I can check, でございます is a polite form (丁寧語), which seems almost equal to です but with a more polite mood. It is classified as a humble form (謙譲語) by ...
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Honorific suffix in exchanges between university staff
I am trying to find a short summary of suffixes (honorific) that are in use in universities, in exchanges between staff at different levels. I have found a lot of advice on students addressing ...
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How is いらっしゃる used with nouns?
お客様は継続ご希望でいらっしゃいますか？ それとも解約ご希望でしょうか？
I understand the meaning of the above sentence and that いらっしゃる is the honorific form of be, come, and go, but I don't understand how//why it's being used with ご希望. ...
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How do I say 'I am a professor/PhD' without sounding pretentious, arrogant, and presumptuous?
Okay, so put simply I have a PhD in history and work in academia, and will be interacting with some other academics in Japan. BUT Japan is not my area of expertise, my Japanese is a bit limited, and ...
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Why 望む is in passive here? [duplicate]
I am confused why 望む is written in passive form below:
I understand 黒瀬くんの進学を望まれる as "mother wants Kurose to pursue further education." I wonder if 望む is written in passive form to show ...
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How does a parent address their child's teacher or principal?
Would the honorific さま (-sama) surfice when addressing a teacher or principal? I'm uncertain if a parent would use 先生 (sensei) or こうちょうせんせい (kōchōsensei) as it's not their teacher, but their child's.
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What's the function of であられる?
I came across another confusing Japanese translation of the Qur'an. Here's the Arabic text:
قُلۡ هُوَ اللّٰهُ اَحَدٌ (the Qur'an chapter 112 verse 1)
Here's the English translation:
Say, He is ...
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おいでいただけませか grammar
A humble way of requesting others to do something is: (verb in て-form)+ていただけませか.
おいで is short for おいでなさい. It is the honorific お + いでる, which is an Ichidan verb, so the て-form is おいでて.
Should it be ...
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The tense of osagashi
In the sentence "nanika osagashi desu ka?" (Are you looking for something), in which tense is "osagashi"? Why is it not osagashimasu?
user56721
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Talking about yourself in Honorifics [尊敬語]
Can one talk about themselves in Honorifics? Example:
俺様が宅へお出でになった [I went home]
俺は寿司を召し上がれる [I can eat sushi]
俺は勉強為さってらっしゃる [I am studying]
etc etc
And what instances is it used and the nuance ?
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Motokano S01E01: Addressing / referring your step-parents as 1st name-san vs aunt / uncle
1st episode of new anime adaptation of light novel series My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex aka Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta:
Widow Mineaki, father of male protagonist Mizuto, has recently ...
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The Quintessential Quintuplets: Can you use 1st name with the honorific -sensei?
From S01E06 of the anime adaptation of the manga The Quintessential Quintuplets:
The male protagonist Fuutarou Uesugi is a smart but poor high school student who is tutoring these 5 (currently 3 in ...
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Is "strong language" a rating criterion in Japanese entertainment/media?
In the West, "strong language" (e.g. lots of cussing) will net you a higher rating (e.g. rated M) or even get videos on YouTube demonitized. Is there essentially no such concept in Japan? To ...
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Using 先生 for crafts workers
If one were talking to or about an expert craftsperson, e.g. a highly skilled arborist (as opposed to a garden designer) or to a stone mason or papermaker, would it be appropriate to refer to that ...
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Why add お～ in おすすめ even when talking about YOUR own advice? [duplicate]
I am basically checking my own understanding:
I remember from 敬語 basics in Minna that you say ご案内いたします, for example, with the honorific prefix, even though it's essentially you who are doing the ...
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Use of particle に
What is the reason why に is used in this sentence instead of が or を?
外国語を使って仕事をしていらっしゃる方々にお集まりいただきました。
Does this いただく here stand for honorific of する or of もらう?
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The idol used "お仕事" to refer to her own job. Is that appropriate?
I saw a dialogue in Japanese drama. The context of the dialogue is that an elderly female reporter is interviewing a young female idol who has just become popular. The dialogue is as follows:
...
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Difference between using -san and -shi
I was at an event with high ranking Japanese personal, heads of a martial arts organisation. People were asking for signatures on event passes, which had their name written on it. As part of the ...
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お＋Vます＋ください vs お＋Vます＋になってください
I was wondering if there is a slight nuance difference between these 2 honorific patterns. I 'll give an examle with 座る.
1)お座りください。
2) お座りになってください。(or as it is commonly encountered: お掛けになってください。)
To ...
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Honorific Verbs conjugation - ～ていらっしゃる vs お + Verb Stem + になる
In book "Genki II", there's no explanation for verbs that don't have a special conjugation, for when to conjugate either to:
「て Form」 + いらっしゃる
お + Verb Stem + になる
My simple question is ...
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Japanese honourifics during the Heian period
I'm just curious about honorifics during the Heian period. I know that "daredare no kimi" was used often in court however I am curious about other honorifics extant during the period. ...
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Motokano S01E01: Why when being romantically affectionate do these ex-romantic partner step-siblings call each other by last name?
1st episode of new anime adaptation of light novel series My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex aka Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Motokano datta:
Yume Ayai and Mizuto Irido have recently become step-siblings. ...
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How relevant is gender in comparing last name-kun/chan compare to 1st name-san?
Re these questions:
How does last name-kun/chan compare to 1st name-san?
(Danganronpa) Why does Naegi call Togami "kun" and Aoi "san"?
(Kaguya-sama) WWhy does Chika call Miyuki ...
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How does last name-kun/chan compare to 1st name-san?
Let's say the person is John Smith, first name John, last Smith.
Comparing the following pairs is easy. The latter is more formal than the former.
John-kun vs John-san
Smith-kun vs Smith-san
John-kun ...
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I'm making a paint and using Japanese names for characters, Are the honorific/royal titles redundant?
Disclaimer: I'm learning Japanese language but my level is really low
I took painting as a hobby and I want to use the characters names using Katakana and Kanji. The character I'm painting is Bowsette ...
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Why can places get a さん suffix when they are not a person?
For example:
薬屋さんに行った。
初めてくるお風呂屋さんは楽しい。
講堂さんにてライブがあります。
First, what nuance is added by adding a さん?
Second, can this be done with any place?
Third, it seems like the frequency of usage varies a lot ...
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他のうちの人に、来たことを知らせます。社長室に入ります。何と言いますか。
社長室に入ります。何と言いますか。
失礼します。
ごめん下さい。
うかがいます。
According to my book, the correct answer is 1- 失礼します.
Yet, in another part of my book it states this:
他のうちの人に、来たことを知らせます。
at the time when you arrive at ...
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いろいろお世話になりました。->いいえ、こちらこそ。 or またいらっしゃってください。
いろいろお世話になりました。
hello, in my book I found the 2 following replies to the above statement, which one is correct?
Are they both correct?
In what circumstances should each of these replies be replied to ...
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(先生に)お礼を申し上げます。
(先生に)お礼を申し上げます。
Hello can someone tell me how this phrase is to be used?
Do I say it to the teacher or is this a phrase to use with a 3rd person talking about a teacher?
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今晩はお宅にいらっしゃるでしょう。今晩はお宅においでになりますか。
1 - 今晩はお宅にいらっしゃるでしょう。
2- 今晩はお宅においでになりますか。
I know the above are described as 尊敬語 (目上の人の行為を言う) Respectful Language for いる. Used to refer to the actions of supervisors.
The question I have is, who says ...
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研究会の会長でいらっしゃいます。 and お元気でいらっしゃるそうです
研究会の会長でいらっしゃいます。
お元気でいらっしゃるそうです。
I know the above is described as 尊敬語 (目上の人の行為を言う) Respectful Language for だ. Used to refer to the actions of supervisors.
Can someone explain when or in what ...
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推薦書を書いて下さいました。vs (先生に)ピアノを教えていただきました。
1 - 推薦書を書いて下さいました。
2 - (先生に)ピアノを教えていただきました。
I wanted to confirm 2 things.
First is number 1 尊敬語 and is number 2 謙譲語
Second is the reason why 2 is using 謙譲語 because the teacher is part of the speakers ...
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受付の人に質問したいことはあります - 尊敬語 (respectful) and 謙譲語 (humble)
受付の人に質問したいことはあります。
I want to ask a question to the person at the desk. How do you ask a question to the person at the desk in Japanese?
Answer: うかがいたいんですが。
I like to ask you something (I am talking ...
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係りの山田は、すぐに参ります。‐Yamada, the person in charge, is coming soon‐
係りの山田は、すぐに参ります。
Yamada, the person in charge, is coming soon.
I have a question, why is this sentence from my Japanese book stated in a humble way instead of an honorific way? The humble word for ...
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Do humble forms exist in Kansai-ben?
I know that Kansai-ben has a variety of strategies to express honorification. For instance, the honorific form of `use' in Kyōto-ben is 使いはる. My question is about whether 謙譲語 forms exist in Kansai ...
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Do friends continue to use chan/kun to refer to each other as adults or do they switch to using san?
Do friends continue to use chan/kun to refer to each other as adults or do they switch to using san?
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Should I use -Sensei (先生) to refer to a teacher if they aren't my teacher?
Does it make a difference whether they teach at my school, even if they don't teach my class?
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How should honorific suffixes be ideally translated to capture their full meaning, given unlimited space? [closed]
It’s well known that there are many, quite subtle, forms of honorific address in the Japanese language from those of the highest rank to the lowest, and even those of unknown rank. And of course ...
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Does 「拝見ありがとうございます」 ever make sense?
I have seen this used on a Japanese site by at least two native speakers, usually attached to the end of the post to mean "Thank you for reading". The phrasing simply doesn't make sense to ...
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Honorific on a number
I've been having a play with Duolingo and I came across this utterance:
果物をお一つどうぞ。
So far I've come across some pretty unnatural stuff and it's left me rather skeptical.
I've never seen an honorific ...
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Is くれてください tautological?
I was doing some reading on the different honorific forms in Japanese and came across ください being the humble form of くれる. Does this mean that -くれてください at the end of a request is tautological?
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Is the ''o'' in ''osara'' (plate) an honorific o 御 or just a normal o お?
I have learned that "plate" is both sara and osara.
The fact that the o can be attached implies to me that it is an honorific o 御.
My dictionary gives the honorific o as 御 but for osara it ...
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"となっております" - "It is our rule that" - Honorific Speech?
According to Tofugu 〜となっております means "it is a rule that"
I know that となる means to become with the nuance of finality and てある is for resulting actions "in preparation for something".
...
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Using honorifics when talking about others with friends (indirect speech)
I couldn't find the question already being asked, so please redirect me if it was already answered.
The honorific suffix －さん is always used when directly speaking to another person. It is also used ...
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When is 博士 (hakase) used as honorific?
According to wikipedia, 博士 (hakase) is used as honorific when addressing some academics:
Sensei (先生、せんせい) [...] is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers. [...] The term ...
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i wanted to name myself a Japanese name,(first-last) but i wanted to know if it was okay to do so
Can someone please answer my question somehow? I would like to respect and honor the means of Japanese people/culture. I did not want to name myself a Japanese name without permission from the ...
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Is こられた (from 来られた from 来られる) here working as a passive helping?
I came across two paragraphs in which こられた is mentioned.
1st paragraph:
萩生田文部科学大臣は、ＮＨＫの取材に対し、「報道が事実だとすれば、これまで体調が悪い中でも業務を続けてこられたのに、ここにきて辞任されるのは非常に残念だ。まだお若いので、今後は体調に気をつけていただきながら後輩への指導をしっかりしてもらいたい」...
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Apparent honorific use of 参る
I'm puzzled by the appearance of 参る in this dictionary entry.
The example sentence is archaic:「こなたにてみぐしなど参る程に」
In the modern language, this becomes: こちらでお髪などおととのえになるころに。
Notice that the modern version ...
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