The three types in one rule each
- Teineigo (丁寧語): be polite to the listener. This is desu, masu, and gozaimasu. You already use it.
- Sonkeigo (尊敬語): raise the person you are talking about. Used for clients, managers, customers, and anyone outside your group. The actions are theirs.
- Kenjōgo (謙譲語): lower yourself and your own side. Used for your own actions, and for your company or family when speaking to outsiders.
The single most useful question is: whose action is this? If it is theirs, use sonkeigo. If it is mine or my company's, use kenjōgo. Then wrap the whole thing in teineigo.
The verb table you actually need
A small number of everyday verbs have special honorific and humble forms. These appear constantly in offices, shops, and emails. Learn these first; everything else uses a regular pattern.
| Plain verb | Sonkeigo (their action) | Kenjōgo (my action) |
|---|---|---|
| 行く / 来る (go / come) | いらっしゃる irassharu | 参る mairu / 伺う ukagau |
| いる (be) | いらっしゃる irassharu | おる oru |
| 言う (say) | おっしゃる ossharu | 申す mōsu / 申し上げる mōshiageru |
| する (do) | なさる nasaru | いたす itasu |
| 食べる / 飲む (eat / drink) | 召し上がる meshiagaru | いただく itadaku |
| 見る (see) | ご覧になる goran ni naru | 拝見する haiken suru |
| 知る (know) | ご存じだ gozonji da | 存じる zonjiru / 存じ上げる zonjiageru |
| 聞く (ask, hear) | お聞きになる okiki ni naru | 伺う ukagau |
| もらう (receive) | お受け取りになる ouketori ni naru | いただく itadaku |
| 会う (meet) | お会いになる oai ni naru | お目にかかる ome ni kakaru |
The regular patterns for everything else
For verbs without a special form, sonkeigo uses o + verb stem + ni naru, and kenjōgo uses o + verb stem + suru. Kanji compound verbs that take suru swap o for go.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 部長はもうお帰りになりました。 | Buchō wa mō okaeri ni narimashita. | The manager has already gone home. (sonkeigo) |
| 資料をお送りします。 | Shiryō o ookuri shimasu. | I will send the documents. (kenjōgo) |
| ご説明します。 | Gosetsumei shimasu. | I will explain. (kenjōgo with a suru verb) |
| ご利用になりますか？ | Goriyō ni narimasu ka? | Will you be using it? (sonkeigo with a suru verb) |
Twenty office phrases that do most of the work
Most polite office interaction is fixed phrases, not creative grammar. These twenty cover greetings, requests, apologies, and phone calls.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| お世話になっております。 | Osewa ni natte orimasu. | Thank you for your continued support. (opening for calls and emails) |
| お疲れ様です。 | Otsukaresama desu. | Standard greeting between colleagues. |
| 恐れ入りますが | Osoreirimasu ga | I am sorry to trouble you, but... (softens a request) |
| 少々お待ちください。 | Shōshō omachi kudasai. | Please wait a moment. |
| かしこまりました。 | Kashikomarimashita. | Certainly. (to a customer or superior) |
| 承知いたしました。 | Shōchi itashimashita. | Understood. (to a superior or client) |
| 申し訳ございません。 | Mōshiwake gozaimasen. | I sincerely apologise. |
| ご確認をお願いいたします。 | Gokakunin o onegai itashimasu. | Please confirm. |
| お手数をおかけしますが | Otesū o okake shimasu ga | Sorry for the trouble, but... |
| ご都合はいかがでしょうか？ | Gotsugō wa ikaga deshō ka? | Would that be convenient for you? |
| 失礼いたします。 | Shitsurei itashimasu. | Excuse me. (entering, leaving, ending a call) |
| お先に失礼します。 | Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu. | Excuse me for leaving before you. |
| いつもありがとうございます。 | Itsumo arigatō gozaimasu. | Thank you as always. |
| ただいま席を外しております。 | Tadaima seki o hazushite orimasu. | They are away from their desk right now. |
| 折り返しお電話いたします。 | Orikaeshi odenwa itashimasu. | I will call you back. |
| お名前を伺ってもよろしいでしょうか？ | Onamae o ukagatte mo yoroshii deshō ka? | May I ask your name? |
| 検討させていただきます。 | Kentō sasete itadakimasu. | We will consider it. (often a polite no) |
| よろしくお願いいたします。 | Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu. | Thank you in advance. (closing) |
| お忙しいところ恐縮ですが | Oisogashii tokoro kyōshuku desu ga | I know you are busy, but... |
| 何かございましたらご連絡ください。 | Nanika gozaimashitara gorenraku kudasai. | Please contact me if anything comes up. |
Mistakes that make keigo sound wrong
- Using sonkeigo for yourself. Watashi ga irasshaimasu is a classic error; your own coming is mairimasu or ukagaimasu.
- Double keigo. Osshararemashita, o-meshiagari ni nararemasu, and haiken sasete itadakimasu stack two forms. One is enough.
- Raising your own company to outsiders. Your manager is Tanaka, not Tanaka-san or Tanaka-buchō, when you speak to a client.
- Mixing casual endings into polite sentences. Keigo verbs followed by casual da or yo sound broken.
- Overusing sasete itadakimasu. It should mean doing something with permission; attaching it to everything sounds evasive.
When you do not need keigo
Keigo is for people outside your group, people above you, and customers. With colleagues at the same level, plain polite desu and masu are fine. With friends and juniors who speak casually to you, casual Japanese is the correct register, and keigo would feel cold. Reading the room and adjusting is itself a keigo skill.
A four-week plan to make keigo usable
- Week 1: memorise the verb table above and say each pair aloud in a sentence. Answer a phone in Japanese as a roleplay every day.
- Week 2: practise the ten most common office phrases in context: greeting a client, asking a manager for time, apologising for a delay.
- Week 3: hold longer polite conversations, such as explaining a project or negotiating a deadline, and review each session's corrections for register slips.
- Week 4: mix registers deliberately: a casual chat with a colleague, then a formal report to a manager, in the same practice session.
Unihongo's work-related topics and roleplay missions, including presentations, meetings, and business negotiation, put you in these situations with an AI Sensei who replies in natural keigo and shows you afterwards where your register slipped. Practising a realistic exchange three or four times is worth more than rereading the chart.