N3#honorifics#verbs#keigo#politeness

Honorifics Introduction Lesson 6

Mastering the special honorific verbs いらっしゃる and おっしゃる to speak respectfully about others' actions.

Context

Meeting a client

Imagine you are at a business meeting. Your boss asks you about the client's arrival time and what they said during the previous meeting. You need to convey this information to your boss while showing the highest level of respect to the client.

In Japanese business culture, using standard polite language (desu/masu) is often not enough when talking about a superior or a client. You must use Sonkeigo (respectful language) to elevate the status of the person you are talking about.

Explanation

Special Honorific Verbs

Some common verbs have special honorific forms. Today we focus on いらっしゃる (to be/come/go) and おっしゃる (to say).

SubjectがHonorific Verb

いらっしゃる is the honorific equivalent of いる (to be), 来る (to come), and 行く (to go). It is used to describe the actions or state of someone you respect. Similarly, おっしゃる is the honorific equivalent of 言う (to say).

Watch out

Never use these verbs for yourself or members of your own group (in-group). They are strictly for elevating the person you are talking about (out-group/superior).

Examples

Examples in Context

See how these verbs elevate the subject.

社長(しゃちょう)がいらっしゃいました。

The company president has arrived.

社長しゃちょうcompany presidentががsubject markerいらっしゃいましたいらっしゃいましたarrived (honorific)

お客様(おきゃくさま)は何(なん)とおっしゃいましたか。

What did the customer say?

お客様おきゃくさまcustomer/guestははtopic marker何なんwhatととquotation particleおっしゃいましたおっしゃいましたsaid (honorific)

先生が明日、学校に【いらっしゃいます】。

Hint: The honorific form of 'to come'.

The teacher will come to school tomorrow.

Usage

Register and Nuance

Knowing when to use these verbs is key to professional communication.

Standard vs Honorific

言います

Standard polite

部長が言いました

おっしゃいます

Respectful

部長がおっしゃいました

Which sentence is appropriate when talking about your own action?

私は明日いらっしゃいます。
✓ 私は明日行きます。

You should never use honorific verbs for yourself. Use standard polite forms instead.

Deep dive

Conjugation Patterns

These verbs follow specific patterns.

Both いらっしゃる and おっしゃる are Group 1 verbs (u-verbs). However, they have irregular polite forms in the masu-stem. Instead of the expected 'i-stem' (いらっしやります), they use the 'a-stem' (いらっしゃいます) for the masu-form.

Summary

Lesson Recap

Honorific verbs are essential for N3-level business Japanese. Remember: use them to elevate others, never yourself.

いらっしゃる

いらっしゃるverb

to be, come, go (honorific)

おっしゃる

おっしゃるverb

to say (honorific)

社長

しゃちょうnoun

company president

お客様

おきゃくさまnoun

customer/guest