Speech Level Chart

英語

Casual

Neutral Polite

Humble

Honorific

be / exist / have (for people) いる います おります いらっしゃいます
have (inanimate) ある あります

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ございます
go いく いきます まいります いらっしゃいます
come くる きます まいります いらっしゃいます
eat たべる たべます いただきます めしあがります
do する します いたします なさいます
wear きる きます

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おめしになります
say / (is) called いう いいます もうします おっしゃいます
look みる みます はいけんします ごらんになります

How does keigo work? When do you use humble and honorific? You must review the Keigo Essay in Core Module 3, and here is a quick reference for you to commit to memory:

Use casual level when talking to close friends and siblings.

Use neutral polite when talking to people you don't know really well, and people you meet that are your same age and social status.

Use humble when talking about yourself, introducing yourself, and your family members or same-status coworkers (your "in-group") An example is when you give your name: Arizumi to moushimasu ("I am called Arizumi"). Note that people don't usually use "watashi no namae" (my name) because it's redundant and sounds like textbook Japanese. Another example is when you want to explain to someone of a higher status that you will go somewhere, do something, eat, etc. Since the subject is yourself, you will refer to the actions that you do in humble form.

Use honorific when you talk directly to or about a person higher than your social status (your elders, your supervisor or boss, your teacher, and your customers), when the subject is that honorable person him or her self.

For example, the verb to use when ordering food in a restaurant is "to do" (not "have" as in English). You would say to your customers if you were a waiter in the restaurant "Nani ni nasaimasu ka" (What will you do [order]?) but to your spouse you'd say "Nani suru?" (particle ni also gets left off), and to your casual acquaintance coworkers "Nani ni shimasu ka."

Do NOT think that using honorific forms is a safe bet for all situations - that is just weird, and can be interpreted as sarcasm.

Please note that some words do not have humble forms. Use the neutral form when talking about yourself or in-group. Also note that the verbs in the last three rows are all "masu form." You can use the rules of masu form conjugation to make them negative, past tense etc. Conjugating dictionary (-u and -ru) forms is quite complicated and is addressed in another lesson. Here are the dictionary forms for the words FYI:

Humble verbs
Be: おる
Go/Come: まいる
Eat: いただく
Do: いたす
Say: もうす
Look: はいけんする

Honorific verbs
Be/Go/Come: いらっしゃる
Have: ござる
Eat: めしあがる
Do: なさる
Wear: おめしになる
Say: おっしゃる
Look: ごらんになる
 

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