This lesson introduces keigo, Japanese honorific speech, and explains how speakers use it to signal respect, politeness, social distance, and relationships.
Keigo (敬語, literally “respectful language”) is a system of vocabulary and grammatical forms that helps speakers express their relationship to listeners and to people mentioned in conversation. It is especially common in business and formal social settings, but it can also mark unfamiliarity or social distance. Skillful use may signal that a speaker is socially experienced and sophisticated.
All flashcards
What is keigo?
Keigo is Japanese honorific speech: vocabulary and grammatical forms used to express politeness, respect, social relationships, and sometimes social distance.
What is teineigo?
Teineigo is polite language directed toward the addressee. Common markers include desu and the verb ending -masu.
What is sonkeigo?
Sonkeigo is respectful language that elevates the person being talked about, such as a superior or customer. It is not used to elevate the speaker’s own actions.
What is kenjōgo?
Kenjōgo is humble language. It lowers the speaker or the speaker’s in-group in relation to an outside listener or the recipient of an action.
How do suru, shimasu, nasaru, and itasu differ?
Suru is plain, shimasu is polite, nasaru is respectful when describing another person’s action, and itasu is humble when describing the speaker’s or in-group’s action.
Quiz questions
When a Japanese company representative speaks to a customer about their own colleague, what principle commonly guides how the colleague is referred to?Answer: The colleague belongs to the speaker’s in-group, so the speaker generally avoids elevating them to the customer.
Which pattern can form a respectful expression for many Japanese verbs, as in yomu becoming o-yomi ni naru?Answer: Add o- to the masu-stem, then use ni naru.
In Brown and Levinson’s account of politeness, what does negative face primarily concern?Answer: A person’s desire for personal territory and freedom from imposition.
Why do critics object to using udon ni narimasu to identify food in some service settings?Answer: The phrase suggests the food is becoming udon rather than simply identifying it.
What can taigū hyōgen include beyond polite and respectful expressions?Answer: Familiar, rough, or disparaging expressions whose effects depend on context.