Formal vs Informal Japanese: Keigo and more

Let’s go over the different levels of formality that exist in Japanese. We’ll start by understanding what the categories are, and then we’ll look at some examples!

The Basics

Let’s first begin with identifying the different types of formality in Japanese. There are two main groups - futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) and keigo (敬語/けいご).

Futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) is casual Japanese. It’s the lowest level of formality and we use it most often when talking to close friends and family. 

Keigo (敬語/けいご) is formal Japanese. We use it in almost all other situations. Within keigo, there are 5 subgroups. Especially if you want to use Japanese for work or if you want to be able to use and understand service Japanese, it’s important to know how to differentiate them. 

They are: Teineigo (丁寧語/ていねいご), bikago (美化語/びかご), teichōgo (丁重語/ていちょうご), kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご), and sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご).

A quick note: Before we move on, there’s one thing I want to clarify. If you’ve watched my YouTube Shorts on this topic and you’re confused about how the subgroups are organized, it’s because there was a change in recent years. In the Shorts, you’ll see the older way of organizing them, but in this video and all others moving forward, we’re using the newer way!

Teineigo (丁寧語/ていねいご)

Of the 5, let’s start with the one that’s easiest to define: Teineigo (丁寧語/ていねいご). It’s the standard or average level of formality. It’s the one you learn in classrooms and from textbooks. Sentences tend to end in desu (です), masu (ます), deshita (でした), and (ました).

Two example sentences are: 

Kinō, kōen in ikimashita. (昨日、公園に行きました。/きのう、こうえんにいきました。)

Watashi no usagi tachi no namae wa usako to finchi desu. (私のウサギたちの名前はうさことフィンチです。/わたしのウサギたちのなまえはうさことフィンチです。)

Bikago (美化語/びかご)

The next category is bikago (美化語/びかご).

Bikago (美化語/びかご) is the beautification of language, and what we do is add either o (お) or go (ご) mostly to nouns. The addition of o (お) and go (ご) is not random, and they’re not interchangeable. The general rule to know when to use which one - if you don’t already know from hearing or seeing it being used is that o (お) is primarily added to wago (和語/わご) or Japanese words, and go (ご) is primarily added to kango (漢語/かんご), or words that originate from Chinese. It’s important to remember that there are exceptions to this rule!

Let’s take a look at some example words: 

Hana (花/はな) and nimotsu (荷物/にもつ) both take o (お), so they become ohana (お花/おはな) and onimotsu (お荷物/おにもつ).

Riyō (利用/りよう) and renraku (連絡/れんらく) both take go (ご), so they become goriyō (ご利用/ごりよう) and gorenraku (ご連絡/ごれんらく).

For the most part, katakana words don’t have a bikago form, but there are a few standard ones is use today. They are: otoire (おトイレ) and otabako (おタバコ). I have a feeling that over time, more katakana words will start taking on this form, but it’ll take time to test my hypothesis.

The frequency of bikago usage depends on the situation. For some words, this form is the default one used in any context, but for other words, whether you use this form or not can be personal preference. In general, women tend to use it more often than men, and you’re more likely to use it at work than in daily conversation, especially if you’re in the service industry.  

The Difference between Sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご) and Kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご)

Before we define the remaining 3 categories, let’s briefly talk about the difference between sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご) and kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご).

They’re the same, but also opposite. They’re both very formal and used in business settings, but we use one to talk about ourselves, and the other to talk about others. 

Sonkeigo is called honorific or respectful language in English and we use it to talk about the actions and behaviours of others. “Others” includes people like guests and customers. We use these expressions to raise them up. 

Kenjōgo on the other hand, is called humble language in English. We use it to talk about the actions and behaviours of ourselves. This category of “ourselves” can include teammates and family, for example - anyone that is at the same level as you in that situation. These expressions lower us. 

Sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご)

Now that we know the difference, let’s take a look at two sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご) examples and compare them with their futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) and teineigo (丁寧語/ていねいご) versions. 

The first example is “Will you eat/have dessert?”

Its futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) or most casual form would be: Dezāto (wo) taberu? (デザート（を）食べる？/デザート（を）たべる？)

In the standard level of formality, it would be: Dezāto (wo) tabemasu ka? (デザート(を)食べますか？/デザート（を）たべますか？)

And it’s sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご) version is: Dezāto wo meshi agarimasu ka? (デザートを召し上がりますか？/デザートをめしあがりますか？)

The second example is, “Look there.”

Its futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) or most casual form would be: Soko (wo) mite (そこ（を）見て。/そこ（を）みて)

In the standard level of formality, it would be: Soko (そこ) - or potentially sochira (そちら) - wo mitekudasai (を見てください。/をみてください。)

And it’s sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご) version is: Sochira wo goran kudasai (そちらをご覧ください。/そちらをごらんください。)

In both examples, we’re talking about the other person - say, your guest for example - eating dessert, and looking there. We aren’t doing anything in these sentences.

To talk about our own actions, we need to use kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご). 

Kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご)

Let’s flip the examples we just looked at so instead of the guest eating dessert or looking there, we will do these things. 

For the question “Will you eat/have dessert?” the sonkeigo version is: Dezāto wo meshi agarimasu ka? (デザートを召し上がりますか？/デザートをめしあがりますか？). But to talk about us having dessert, and therefore turning it into kenjōgo, we could say, “Can I have dessert?” or Dezāto wo itadaitemo yoroshīdeshōka? (デザートを頂いてもよろしいでしょうか？/デザートをいただいてもよろしいでしょうか？)

Meshiagaru (召し上がる/めしあがる) and itadaku (頂く/いただく) are more formal forms of the verb taberu (食べる/たべる) - but we use the first to talk about others eating, and the second to talk about us eating. 

For the sentence, “Look there” the sonkeigo version is: Sochira wo goran kudasai (そちらをご覧ください。/そちらをごらんください。) But to talk about us looking, we would say: Sochira wo haiken shimasu. (そちらを拝見します。/そちらをごらんください。)

It’s a little weird to say “I’ll look there” but don’t worry about that right now. The important thing to note is that goran ni naru (ご覧になる/ごらんになる) and haiken suru (拝見する/はいけんする) are formal forms of the verb miru (見る/みる). We use the first to talk about others looking, and the second to talk about us looking.

Teichōgo (丁重語/ていちょうご)

Teichōgo (丁重語/ていちょうご) is sometimes referred to as kenjōgo II (謙譲語II/けんじょうごII). Just like kenjōgo, we use it to talk about ourselves, but kenjōgo requires the involvement of someone else, whereas teichōgo doesn’t. We use teichōgo to indicate that we are aware that we’re in a very formal situation. It’ll probably be easiest to think of teichōgo (丁重語/ていちょうご) as a subgroup of, or as a pair with kenjōgo. 

There are a limited number of verbs in the teichōgo category, so it’s not difficult to memorise them. 

Let’s look at 2 examples. 

Asu, sochira ni mairi masu (明日、そちらに参ります。/あす、そちらにまいります。), meaning “I will go there tomorrow.”

Marimasu (参ります/まいります) is the teichōgo form of iku (行く/いく).

Watashi wa ie ni orimasu (私は家におります。/わたしはいえにおります。), meaning “I am (or “I will be”) at home.”

Orimasu (おります) is the teichōgo form of iru (いる).

Review

Let’s recap what we’ve gone over: 

The categories of formality in Japanese are futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい), teineigo (丁寧語/ていねいご), bikago (美化語/びかご), sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご), kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご), and teichōgo (丁重語/ていちょうご), which can also be referred to as kenjōgo II (謙譲語II/けんじょうごII). Four of these groups fall into the category of keigo (敬語/けいご).

Futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) is casual Japanese. 

Teineigo (丁寧語/ていねいご) is the standard level of formality in Japanese. Sentences end in desu, masu (です, ます)

Bikago (美化語/びかご) is the beautification of language, where we add o (お) or go (ご) mainly to nouns.

Sonkeigo (尊敬語/そんけいご) is very formal Japanese and it’s used to talk about the actions of others, like guests, for example.

Kenjōgo (謙譲語/けんじょうご) and teichōgo (丁重語/ていちょうご) are also very formal Japanese, but we use them to talk about our own actions. 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to keigo, it can sometimes be a challenge for Japanese language learners to use it due to different cultural attitudes toward social status and respect. If you think of sonkeigo and kenjōgo simply as honorific and humble language, you might lose sight of part of the essence of the language. The ability to use these different aspects of formality in the correct settings can be a way to show that you have good manners and a solid mastery of the language.

I do get the overall impression that usage of keigo is declining a bit, especially among younger people. Depending on how you perceive this, it could be a perfect chance to demonstrate your skills, or it could be a change that you want to be a part of. 

Learn More

In the next installment on this topic, we’ll expand on this one and learn how you can turn a verb in it’s dictionary or futsūtai form into its keigo form. There are rules that you can follow which makes it easier! We’ll look at some examples as well to help make sense of it all because I know it can be a lot to take in at once. I know I was confused when I first learned about all of this and it took some time to understand it all.

Please consider subscribing to the YouTube channel for more videos that will help you improve your pronunciation and pitch accent. 

---

Want to learn more about Kokoro Communications and the services we offer?

Home | About | Services | Contact Us

---