#polite

mx24:

polite

If you ever find yourself wondering if I’m flirting with you… I don’t. I am just polite and outgoing.

If you think I’m awkward and you get second hand embarrassment everytime you’re around me there you have it. I am trying and failing to flirt with you.

kingofshowandtell-deactivated20:

determinators:

• Ralsei looks like he got dragged by Kris into some Sword Nonsense.
• Catty discovered the alley milk. We’ll never get her out of there.
  
• Susie is using a glass in the punch bowl (?) instead of upending the whole thing into her mouth. character development
• polite
  

I don’t think I’m far off with the theory that one of the reasons Americans find Japanese so hard is because of something called Keigo. Imagine this scenario: You are a mild mannered employee. And go!

Coworker/Friend: (Good) Morning!

You: (Good) Morning! Oh, I wanted to give you a souvenir from my vacation.

C/F: Oh, thanks!

You: No problem. We’re meeting in your office later, right?

C/F: Yep.

Ok, same conversation, just with your boss.

Boss: (Good) Morning!

You: (Good) Morning! Oh, I wanted to give you a souvenir from my vacation.

B: Oh, thanks!

You: No problem. We’re meeting in your office later, right?

B: Yep.

You’ll notice it’s the same conversation. In the English language, unless you want to sound like an obnoxious dictionary eater, there’s no reason to pick polite/pretentious sounding words. What really matters is the tone/body language as you say them.

Japanese, on the other hand, does not roll like that. Here are the same to conversations, but in literal translation from Japanese:

Coworker/Friend: (Good) Morning!

You: (Good) Morning! Oh, I wanted to give you a souvenir from my vacation.

C/F: Oh, thanks!

You: No problem. We’re meeting in your office later, right?

C/F: Yep.

Wow, the same conversation! Let’s see the boss version.

Boss: (Good) Morning!

You: (Good) Morning! Oh, I wanted to respectfully give Boss-san a souvenir from my vacation.

B: Oh, thanks!

You: No problem. I am respectively meeting Boss-san in Boss-san’s office later, right?

B: Yep.

Now, this word ‘respectively’ pops up. You see, in Japanese, there is a speech group called 敬語 (けいご). 敬語 literally means “honorific, term of respect”. 敬語 is not just in how you call people, but the verbs you use with them too. Note I said 'Verbs’. You actually have to learn a new verb-cabulary to use Keigo.

There are a lot of verbs in the Japanese language, so luckily, you don’t have to learn a new verb for each one, as there is a nice formula for it. But first, let’s discuss the TYPES of 敬語. 

There are 5 categories of 敬語, two of which you may know. 

Plain Form: This is the most casual of the bunch. It’s also the easiest to use, but please please please don’t use this with your boss. Please. You may also know it as dictionary form.

Polite Form: This is the form I think is most familiar for those learning Japanese. It’s also known as Masu-form. This is the most standard with strangers and acquaintances.

Respect Form: This is the form you would use if you were talking about the action of a higher up to a higher up. For example, asking your boss “Have you eaten?” would require the 'eaten’ part to be in Respect form, as it’s your boss’ action. 

Humble Form has two parts:

• In Type I, this is when you talk to a boss about an action that concerns your boss that you did. It’s long winded, but here’s an example. You want to go visit your boss. The verb 'visit’ is something YOU do, but your boss is involved. 
• On the other hand, there is Type II. You use Type II when describing an action you do that does not concern your boss as you are talking to them. For example, you going to see a movie doesn’t concern them, but you would still use Type II to be polite. This also overlaps with Polite/Masu form if the Type II form of the verb doesn’t exist.

I’ve already described how to change from Plain to Polite/Masu form before, so let’s describe how to change things into Respect or Humble form.

To make a verb into Respect Form, you have to follow this pattern:

お+Verb masu stem +になります

OR

お+Verb masu stem +です

Of course, the first version is a little better, but both are acceptable. Here’s an example:

社長は子供時何をおあそびになりましたか。

What did president play as a child?

This is the way to put MOST verbs into Respect form.

On the other hand, there is Humble form. This will work for either Type I or Type II. The pattern is this:

お+Verb masu stem +する

So here’s an example:

私は社長の本をかえしします。

I am returning your book to you, president.

This is how MOST verbs work, but unfortunately, not all of them are clear cut because that would be too easy. I will now list the verbs that DO NOT follow these patterns, as well as their Respect and Humble forms.

Plain Form         　Polite Form            Humble 1            　　 Humble 2              　　Respect

言う　　　　言います　　　　　もしあげる　　　　　もす　　　　　　おっしゃる

行く　　　　行きます　　　　　うかがう　　　　　　まいる　　　　　いらっしゃる

来る　　　　きます　　　　　　うかがう　　　　　　まいる　　　　　いらっしゃる

いる　　　　います　　　　　　ーーーー　　　　　　おる　　　　　　いらっしゃる

する　　　　します　　　　　　いたす　　　　　　　いたす　　　　　なさる

食べる　　　たべます　　　　　いただく　　　　　　いただく　　　　めしあがる

飲む　　　　のみます　　　　　いただく　　　　　　いただく　　　　めしあがる

見る　　　　みます　　　　　　はいけんする　　　　ーーーー　　　　ごらんになる

聞く　　　　ききます　　　　　うかがう　　　　　　ーーーー　　　　お聞きになる

会う　　　　会います　　　　　お目にかかる　　　　ーーーー　　　　お会いになる

寝る　　　　寝ます　　　　　　ーーーー　　　　　　ーーーー　　　　お休みになる

知っている　知っています　　ぞんじあげています　ぞんじています　　ごぞんじた

Nだ(Where N is a name)Nです　ーーーー　　　　Nでございます　　　Nでいらっしゃる

あげる　　　　あげます　　　　　さしあげる　　　　　ーーーー　　　　おあげになる

もらう　　　　もらいます　　　　いただく　　　　　　ーーーー　　　おもらいになる

くれる　　　　くれます　　　　　ーーーー　　　　　　ーーーー　　　　くださる

As you look through this list, you may think “Wait, I use a lot of these verbs on a daily basis! I can’t ignore it!” You can’t, and that’s what’s so hard. It’s not like you can’t put these verbs in the formula, but it would sound like gibberish. You’ll also note there is no rule, and some of them even overlap. There’s nothing you can do besides memorization. If you see a “—-” this doesn’t mean use the formula, it means that there is no version of the verb in that form. 

I know 敬語 is really hard, and I explained it the best I could. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.