Japanese Keigo Quiz With Answers: 15 Questions on Polite Speech

This keigo quiz has 15 questions on the parts of polite Japanese that learners get wrong most: honorific verbs (sonkeigo) for other people, humble verbs (kenjōgo) for yourself, talking about your own boss to a client, and double keigo. Answer all fifteen first, then check the answer key, which explains every choice in one line.

By Trinh Ngoc Dieu · Founder of Unihongo 9 min readPublished October 26, 2026

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いらっしゃいますis, comes, goes (honorific)

What you need to know

Keigo is not one politeness level but a system with a direction. Honorific forms such as irassharu and meshiagaru raise the person you talk about; humble forms such as mairu and haiken suru lower yourself and your group. The most common learner mistakes are not forgetting keigo, but pointing it the wrong way: using a humble verb for a customer, or an honorific verb for your own manager when you speak to someone outside the company. Over-polite double keigo, such as ossharareru, is another frequent slip, and it is common among native speakers too. This quiz checks those decisions in situations you will meet at work, in shops and in formal emails. It suits learners from around N4 to N2 and anyone preparing for a job in Japan. After the questions you will find the answer key, a checklist of the direction rules, a model phone dialogue, score bands, and a way to practise keigo out loud, which is the only way it becomes usable.

Honorific verbs raise others; humble verbs lower you and your group

To a client, talk about your own boss with humble forms and no san

Double keigo such as ossharareru is a common over-polite mistake

Learn the special verbs first: irassharu, meshiagaru, mairu, haiken suru

Four keigo verbs to know before you start

Much of keigo rests on a small set of special verbs. The four below appear in the quiz: two honorific verbs for what other people do, and two humble verbs for what you do.

Notice that the special verbs replace the ordinary verb completely. Meshiagaru has nothing in common with taberu, so these verbs have to be learnt as words, not as rules.

Four picture cards with keigo verbs: honorific is or comes, humble I go, honorific to eat, humble I'll look at it. — Two honorific verbs for others, two humble verbs for yourself.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
いらっしゃいます	irasshaimasu	is, comes, goes (honorific)
参ります	mairimasu	I go, I come (humble)
召し上がる	meshiagaru	to eat, to drink (honorific)
拝見します	haiken shimasu	I'll take a look (humble)

Questions 1-5: choosing the right verb

1. Which is the honorific form of 食べる? (a) いただく (b) 参る (c) 召し上がる (d) 拝見する
2. Which is the humble form of 行く? (a) いらっしゃる (b) おっしゃる (c) なさる (d) 参る
3. A shop clerk to a customer: 「こちらで少々 ___ ください。」 (a) お待ち (b) 待ちして (c) お待ちして (d) 待たれて
4. You tell a client that your boss Tanaka is away from the desk: 「田中はただいま席を ___ 。」 (a) お外しになっています (b) 外しております (c) 外していらっしゃいます (d) お外しです
5. To your teacher: 「先生は明日何時に ___ か。」 (come) (a) 参ります (b) いらっしゃいます (c) 伺います (d) おります

Questions 6-10: direction and double keigo

For each question, first decide who does the action: you, or the person you are talking to. Then choose a humble or an honorific verb.

6. Which form is double keigo? (a) おっしゃる (b) 申し上げる (c) ご覧になる (d) おっしゃられる
7. To a client: 「資料を ___ 。」 (I looked at the documents) (a) 拝見しました (b) ご覧になりました (c) 見られました (d) お見になりました
8. Introducing yourself formally: 「私はスミスと ___ 。」 (a) おっしゃいます (b) 言われます (c) 申します (d) お言いします
9. To a guest: 「週末は何を ___ か。」 (do) (a) いたします (b) なさいます (c) 申します (d) 参ります
10. 「先生にお土産を ___ 。」 (I gave) (a) くださいました (b) なさいました (c) 差し上げました (d) いらっしゃいました

Questions 11-15: real situations

11. You ask your manager whether they saw your email. Which is correct? (a) メールをご覧になりましたか (b) メールを拝見しましたか (c) メールを見させていただきましたか (d) メールをお見えになりましたか
12. A client's host offers you tea. The natural reply: (a) 召し上がります (b) くださいます (c) おります (d) いただきます
13. A receptionist to a visitor: 「会議室までご案内 ___ 。」 (a) なさいます (b) いたします (c) くださいます (d) になります
14. To a client on the phone: 「明日そちらに ___ 。」 (I will visit) (a) 伺います (b) いらっしゃいます (c) お越しになります (d) お見えになります
15. Which sentence is NOT correct keigo? (a) お客様がお越しになりました (b) 部長がおっしゃいました (c) 先生がお見えになりました (d) 社長が申されました

Answer key: direction, form and reason

One point per question. Most wrong answers are real keigo pointed in the wrong direction.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
召し上がる	meshiagaru	1 (c) honorific eat; itadaku is humble
参る	mairu	2 (d) humble go; irassharu is honorific
少々お待ちください。	Shōshō omachi kudasai.	3 (a) o + stem + kudasai: please wait
田中は席を外しております。	Tanaka wa seki o hazushite orimasu.	4 (b) own boss to a client: humble, no san
何時にいらっしゃいますか。	Nanji ni irasshaimasu ka.	5 (b) honorific for the teacher's action
おっしゃられる	ossharareru	6 (d) double keigo: ossharu plus rareru
資料を拝見しました。	Shiryō o haiken shimashita.	7 (a) humble for my own action
スミスと申します。	Sumisu to mōshimasu.	8 (c) humble say: my name is Smith
週末は何をなさいますか。	Shūmatsu wa nani o nasaimasu ka.	9 (b) honorific do, for the guest
お土産を差し上げました。	Omiyage o sashiagemashita.	10 (c) humble give, to a superior
メールをご覧になりましたか。	Mēru o goran ni narimashita ka.	11 (a) honorific see, for the manager
いただきます。	Itadakimasu.	12 (d) humble receive: thank you, I will
ご案内いたします。	Goannai itashimasu.	13 (b) go + noun + itasu: I will show you
明日そちらに伺います。	Ashita sochira ni ukagaimasu.	14 (a) humble visit, for my action
社長がおっしゃいました。	Shachō ga osshaimashita.	15 (d) mōsu is humble; use ossharu for the president

Question 15 shows a very common slip. Mōsareru looks respectful because of the reru ending, but mōsu is a humble verb, and adding reru does not turn it into an honorific. For a superior, use the honorific verb ossharu.

Question 11 also catches people who overuse sasete itadaku. Mite sasete itadakimashita ka asks whether your manager humbly looked with your permission, which makes no sense; the honorific goran ni naru is the natural choice.

The direction checklist

Before any keigo sentence, ask two questions. Who does the action? And whose side is that person on, mine or the listener's? The answers decide the form.

A teacher beside a classroom checklist of keigo rules: humble form for your own boss to a client, honorific ossharu, humble haiken, honorific goran ni naru. — Who acts, and whose side are they on? Two questions that settle most keigo choices.

The listener or an outsider acts: use honorific forms (irassharu, goran ni naru, ossharu).
You or someone from your own group acts, talking to an outsider: use humble forms (mairu, haiken suru, mōsu), and drop san from your colleagues' names.
Use one keigo device per verb. Ossharu is enough; ossharareru is too much.
When unsure, polite desu and masu is safer than keigo pointed the wrong way.

Model dialogue: a call to a client's office

Here is a short phone call that uses several forms from the quiz. You are calling a client, and the receptionist answers. Read both parts aloud.

Japanese	Romaji	Meaning
お電話ありがとうございます。山川商事でございます。	Odenwa arigatō gozaimasu. Yamakawa Shōji de gozaimasu.	Receptionist: Thank you for calling. This is Yamakawa Trading.
さくら物産のスミスと申します。	Sakura Bussan no Sumisu to mōshimasu.	You: My name is Smith, from Sakura Trading.
佐藤部長はいらっしゃいますか。	Satō buchō wa irasshaimasu ka.	You: Is Mr Satō, the department head, available?
申し訳ございません。佐藤はただいま席を外しております。	Mōshiwake gozaimasen. Satō wa tadaima seki o hazushite orimasu.	Receptionist: I'm sorry. Satō is away from his desk right now.
では、明日改めてお電話いたします。	Dewa, ashita aratamete odenwa itashimasu.	You: Then I'll call again tomorrow.
かしこまりました。申し伝えます。	Kashikomarimashita. Mōshitsutaemasu.	Receptionist: Certainly. I will pass that on.

Notice that you say Satō buchō with honorific irassharu, because he belongs to the client's company, but the receptionist says Satō alone with humble orimasu, because he is in her own group. Same person, two different forms, both correct.

Score bands and next steps

Score	Keigo level	What to practise
13-15	Ready for most business situations	Speak keigo aloud under time pressure
9-12	Forms known, direction sometimes slips	The direction checklist on every sentence
5-8	Special verbs still mixed up	Learn the ten special verbs in pairs
0-4	Keigo is new territory	Start with desu and masu, then add five verbs

Keigo appears across the JLPT from N3 upwards, especially in listening, where shop and office announcements use it heavily. The N3 to N1 papers on unihongo.com/jlpt-mock-test include listening sections that show how well you understand keigo at natural speed.

Say it before you need it

Ask Mocchi to drill the verbs you missed: "Give me ten situations and let me answer with the right honorific or humble verb, then explain my mistakes." Mocchi keeps track of the forms you reverse, so your next /review starts with them.

Then speak. In AI Sensei, choose Yamada-sensei and ask for a job interview role, with Yamada-sensei as the interviewer. Introduce yourself with mōshimasu, talk about your current company with humble forms, and ask questions with honorifics. The session report afterwards lists corrections, so you can see which keigo slipped under pressure.

Key points

A practical way to improve

Keigo becomes usable only when you say it. For each verb you missed, say three sentences aloud: one plain, one with desu and masu, and one in keigo, for example iku, ikimasu, mairimasu for yourself and irasshaimasu for a customer. Then practise the direction rule by describing one action twice, once as yourself and once as your manager: watashi ga haiken shimashita and buchō ga goran ni narimashita. Write a short email to a teacher or client and ask Mocchi to check it with /correct; Mocchi will mark keigo that points the wrong way or doubles up, and explain the natural version.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between sonkeigo and kenjōgo?

Sonkeigo (honorific language) raises the person who does the action, so you use it for customers, teachers and superiors: irassharu, meshiagaru, ossharu. Kenjōgo (humble language) lowers the speaker and their group: mairu, itadaku, mōsu. Teineigo, the desu and masu forms, is the polite base under both.

Why do you drop san for your own boss when talking to a client?

Keigo follows uchi and soto, inside and outside. To someone outside your company, your own colleagues and even your boss count as your group, so you use humble forms and their family name alone: Tanaka wa ima seki o hazushite orimasu. Inside the company, you use honorifics for your boss as usual.

What is double keigo?

Double keigo (nijū keigo) stacks two honorific devices on one verb, such as ossharareru, where ossharu is already honorific and reru adds another layer. It sounds over-polite or clumsy to many people, although some double forms, like omeshiagari ni naru, are widely heard. On tests and in business writing, use one form.

Is sasete itadaku always polite?

It is humble and often polite, but it can sound excessive when nobody's permission is involved. Setsumei sasete itadakimasu is fine at the start of a presentation; for many everyday actions, the simpler humble form, such as go-setsumei shimasu or go-setsumei itashimasu, sounds cleaner.