Introduction to Keigo Part 4: 丁寧語

みなさん、

こんばんは。Next up, we have our 丁寧語 (ていねいご), one of the easiest of 敬語。

I guess most of us are familiar with ～です or ～ます. How about ございます or でございます？

Source: http://www.eurohope.com

This is what we call 丁寧語 (ていねいご) / Polite form. It express the politeness towards the other party through the usage of polite words. It is also used widely regardless whether there is a person of higher status or not. It is one of the most common forms that is used in daily life.

If you are having issues using Level 3 (尊敬語) or Level 0 (謙譲語), you might want to consider using Level 1 (丁寧語) instead. This is something that you will never go wrong. However, from the listener’s point of view, if they are of a higher status, they might get angry why you are not using Keigo.

I remembered i got my 1st job working as a Japanese call centre agent and i did the whole phone interview in Keigo. The IT manager and the director were very impressed with me (at that time, my level was only about N4), so knowing Keigo does help.

日本語: 丁寧な言葉づかいによって相手への敬意を表す。高める相手の有無を問わず幅広く使う。

Example sentences:

こちらは　としょかんの　じむしつ です。(This is the library’s administration office)

あそこは　きのくにや　です。 (Over there lies Kinokuniya (a Japanese book store)

There is something else that you guys might not know. That is joining adjectives with ございます。I read that it is not so commonly used. Nonetheless, let’s cover it.

きれいー＞きれいでございます

いそがしいー＞いそがしゅうございます

たかいー＞たこうございます

ありますー＞ございます

わたくしですー＞わたくしでございます

I was asked some questions by some students on Reddit. I would reserve all the questions until the end of section and end off with the frequently asked questions.

Have a great day ahead.

Cheers,
Can