Started to look into 尊敬語 and 謙譲語. How do I know which conjugation form to use?
Hi, maybe stupid question but I was starting to look into 尊敬語 and 謙譲語. Okay I watched some vids and the chapter of Tae Kims guide mostly on 尊敬語 so far and I am already a bit confused.
Okay so there are set expressions like 見る becomes ご覧になります。する becomes なさいます.
But then as it seems there seem to be several conjugation possibilites to make verbs honorific that do not have a set expression.
Like using the 受け身 form. One example of a video was 思いますか to 思われますか。
Another possible conjugation seems to be お+V+になります
決まりましたか to お決まりになりましたか
Yet another seems to be お+V+です
もうお帰りですか example from Tae Kim’s guide.
Okay my question is how do I know which conjugation form to use with which verb?
Example: If I have the verb 読む which doesn’t seem to have a set expression in 尊敬語. How would I figure out if
もう新しい本を読みましたか。becomes
もう新しい本を読まれましたか.
Or もう新しい本をお読みになりましたか.
Or もう新しい本をお読みでしたか。?
Is it something you have to learn and memorize for each individual verb what form to use or are there any rules that makes it easier?
3 comments
That’s the neat part, you don’t! ^/s
The completely different verbs are most respectful, followed by the verb stems. Finally, in keigo, passive is the least of the three, but it’s still a thing.
When I worked in Japan, teachers would use passive honorific about each other a lot.
敬語 such as 尊敬語, 謙譲語, 丁寧語, is incomplete syntax system hence even native speakers think 敬語 is difficult. For example, if native speakers want to express 読む as 尊敬語, then native speakers would use a euphemism such as “ご高覧(こうらん)ください”, “ご笑覧(しょうらん)ください”, “ご一読(いちどく)ください”, “ご確認(かくにん)ください”, instead of “お読みください” because people think a euphemism is a softer way and polite like “Hava a seat” is polite than “Please sit down” in English. Of course, “お読みください” is not wrong.