These are 5 versions from least to most polite
Thank you: Doumo, Arigatou, Doumo Arigatou, Arigatougozaimasu, Doumo Arigatougozaimasu
This is a book: Kore wa Hon da, Kore wa Hon dearu, Kore wa Hon desu, Kore wa Hon de arimasu, Kore wa Hon de Gozaimasu
My question is: When do I use each? Of course the first one is with friends and the last one is in some sort of work enviroment, but what about the middle ones and other possible cases like going to a doctor or a friend you’re not close with etc?
What pronoun and honorific should I use accompanied for each level? Using Atashi and -chan while the rest is incredibly formal or Watakushi and -sama while the rest is incredibly coloquial would be weird, and the same for everything else.
2 comments
I’m going to give you the answer you don’t want, but you very much need.
Stick with ~masu and desu until you’ve gained further familiarity which itself will absolutely answer this question for you.
Paradoxically, when this question no longer needs to be asked, it will all make sense. You will not find yourself in a situation where you’ll need to know this before it makes sense.
You’re probably are much closer to understanding than you think, especially judging by your last paragraph. It’s not really brain surgery, just basic social awareness. Even though we may not change our grammar or word endings or whatnot in English, we do automatically adjust our speech according to whether we’re talking to our pal versus our pal’s grandma versus the boss who’s interviewing us. That’s how this stuff works.
In the *kore wa hon…* example, the only item that stands out to me is *de aru*. That form probably only crops up in speech as a dependent clause, a descriptor, as in something like *hon de aru baai ni kou iu fuu ni suru* ( 本である場合に、こういう風にする。) In that usage it’s pretty neutral or middling in register.
Are you learning from books or in social context, OP? If you’re not in a Japanese social environment, it’s going to be tough to make social language choices become natural.