Chapter 18 — Keigo in Action

You now know the forms. You know the irregular 尊敬語 verbs (いらっしゃる, おっしゃる, ご覧になる, 召し上がる, なさる, くださる), the productive お〜になる pattern, the 謙譲語 I verbs (伺う, 申し上げる, 差し上げる, お目にかかる, 拝見する, いただく), the productive お〜する / お〜いたす patterns, and the 丁重語 verbs (参る, 申す, いたす, おる). You understand the five-part keigo system and the social logic behind it.

This chapter puts all of that knowledge to work. You will see keigo as it actually appears in four real-world domains: business email, customer service, public announcements, and common errors. Then you will read two extended passages that combine everything.

The goal remains comprehension. When you encounter keigo in the wild, you should be able to strip away the honorific layer, identify the plain verb underneath, and understand the content. The social signal — who is being elevated, who is being humbled — is information you absorb, not information you need to produce yet.

18.1 Keigo in Business Email

Japanese business email follows rigid conventions. The keigo forms are largely formulaic — the same phrases appear in nearly every email. Learning to recognize these set phrases gives you access to a huge volume of professional Japanese text.

Opening: お世話になっております

Nearly every business email begins with:

お世話になっております。

This translates roughly as "Thank you for your continued support" or "We are in your care," but its function is closer to "Dear..." in English — it is a ritual opening, not a literal statement. Let us break it down:

• お世話 — 美化語 prefix お + 世話 (care, assistance)
• になって — て-form of になる ("to become")
• おります — 丁重語 for います (humble progressive)

The full expression means "I am being taken care of by you" in humble form. It is 謙譲語 (the speaker humbles their position as someone who receives care).

Variations:

いつもお世話になっております。 "Thank you for always looking after us."

大変お世話になっております。 "Thank you very much for all your support."

初めてご連絡いたします。[Company name]の[Name]と申します。 "I am contacting you for the first time. My name is [Name] from [Company]."

The last variation is used in a first-contact email, where お世話になっております would be inappropriate since no relationship exists yet.

The body: ていただく patterns

The body of business emails relies heavily on ていただく — the humble form of てもらう. This is the backbone of polite requests and expressions of gratitude in professional Japanese.

Expressing gratitude for something done:

ご返信いただきありがとうございます。 "Thank you for your reply." (lit. "I humbly received your reply, and I am grateful.")

お忙しい中、お時間をいただきありがとうございます。 "Thank you for your time despite being busy."

資料をお送りいただきありがとうございます。 "Thank you for sending the documents."

Making polite requests:

ご確認いただけますか。 "Could you confirm this?" (lit. "Could I receive the favor of your confirming?")

ご検討いただければ幸いです。 "I would be grateful if you could consider this."

お返事いただけますと幸いです。 "I would be grateful if I could receive your reply."

The pattern ていただければ幸いです is the gold standard of polite business requests. Let us parse it:

• て — te-form connector
• いただければ — ば-conditional of いただく ("if I could humbly receive")
• 幸いです — "it would be fortunate" (a way of saying "I would appreciate it")

The whole construction means: "If I could receive the favor of you doing this, I would be fortunate." It is indirect, humble, and conditional — three layers of softening wrapped around a simple request.

Closing: よろしくお願いいたします

Nearly every business email ends with some form of:

よろしくお願いいたします。

Or the more formal:

何卒よろしくお願い申し上げます。

Breaking down the more formal version:

• 何卒 (なにとぞ) — "by all means, please" (formal adverb)
• よろしく — "favorably"
• お願い — 美化語 + 願い ("wish/request")
• 申し上げます — 謙譲語 I for 言います ("I humbly say/request")

The expression defies clean translation. It means something like "I humbly request your favorable consideration." It is a ritual closing that covers everything from "please handle this" to "I look forward to working with you" to simply "regards."

Other closing variations:

ご不明な点がございましたら、お気軽にお問い合わせください。 "If you have any unclear points, please do not hesitate to contact us."

引き続きよろしくお願いいたします。 "I look forward to your continued support."

ご多忙のところ恐れ入りますが、ご検討のほどよろしくお願いいたします。 "I am sorry to trouble you when you are busy, but I request your consideration."

Sample email structure

A typical Japanese business email follows this structure:

1. Subject line: 【件名】会議日程のご確認 ("Confirmation of meeting schedule")
2. Recipient: [Company name] [Name] 様
3. Opening greeting: お世話になっております。[Your company] の [Your name] です。
4. Body: Purpose, information, request — using ていただく, お〜する, ございます
5. Closing: ご確認のほどよろしくお願いいたします。
6. Signature block: Company, department, name, contact info

18.2 Keigo in Customer Service

Customer service Japanese is where keigo is most concentrated. Every customer-facing business — from convenience stores to department stores to airlines — trains its employees in service keigo. The language is highly formulaic, and recognizing the formulas unlocks comprehension immediately.

Entering a shop or restaurant

いらっしゃいませ。 "Welcome." (尊敬語 imperative of いらっしゃる)

いらっしゃいませ。何名様ですか。 "Welcome. How many in your party?" (名様 = respectful counter for people)

おはようございます。本日はどのようなご用件でしょうか。 "Good morning. What brings you here today?"

Offering assistance

何かお探しですか。 "Are you looking for something?" (お探し = respectful ます-stem of 探す)

こちらでよろしいですか。 "Is this one all right?" (よろしい = respectful form of いい)

ご試着なさいますか。 "Would you like to try it on?" (なさいます = respectful for します)

Handling requests

少々お待ちください。 "Please wait a moment." (お待ちください = respectful request)

少々お待ちくださいませ。 "Please wait a moment." (ませ adds extra formality)

ただいまお調べいたします。 "I will look into it right away." (お調べいたします = humble for 調べます)

かしこまりました。 "Certainly. / Understood." (a set phrase expressing humble acceptance of a request)

承知いたしました。 "Understood." (humble for 分かりました — slightly less formal than かしこまりました)

Handling transactions

お会計は三千五百円でございます。 "Your total is 3,500 yen." (でございます = ultra-polite for です)

一万円からお預かりいたします。 "I will take this from your 10,000 yen." (お預かりいたします = humble for 預かります)

レシートでございます。 "Here is your receipt."

ありがとうございました。またお越しくださいませ。 "Thank you. Please come again." (お越しくださいませ = respectful for 来てください)

Apologizing

申し訳ございません。 "I am terribly sorry." (stronger and more formal than すみません)

大変お待たせいたしました。 "I am very sorry to have kept you waiting." (お待たせいたしました = humble for 待たせました)

ご迷惑をおかけして申し訳ございません。 "I am sorry for causing you trouble." (おかけして = humble for かけて)

あいにく、在庫を切らしております。 "Unfortunately, we are out of stock." (切らしております = humble progressive)

18.3 Keigo in Public Announcements

Train stations, airports, department stores, and government offices all use keigo in their announcements. These are some of the most frequently heard keigo forms in daily life.

Train announcements

まもなく三番線に電車が参ります。 "A train will be arriving shortly on track 3." (参ります = 丁重語 for 来ます)

黄色い線の内側までお下がりください。 "Please step back behind the yellow line." (お下がりください = respectful request)

次は東京、東京です。お出口は右側です。 "Next stop is Tokyo, Tokyo. The exit is on the right side."

ドアが閉まります。ご注意ください。 "The doors are closing. Please be careful." (ご注意ください = respectful request)

本日も[railway name]をご利用くださいまして、ありがとうございます。 "Thank you for using [railway name] today." (ご利用くださいまして = respectful for 利用してくれて)

お降りの際は、足元にご注意ください。 "When alighting, please watch your step." (お降り = respectful; ご注意ください = respectful)

この電車は各駅停車です。急行をご利用のお客様はお乗り換えください。 "This is a local train. Passengers using the express, please transfer." (ご利用のお客様 = respectful; お乗り換えください = respectful)

Department store announcements

本日はご来店くださいまして、まことにありがとうございます。 "Thank you very much for visiting our store today." (ご来店くださいまして = respectful for 来店してくれて)

まもなく閉店の時間でございます。 "It is almost closing time." (でございます = ultra-polite for です)

お買い忘れのございませんよう、お気をつけくださいませ。 "Please make sure you have not forgotten to purchase anything."

Airport announcements

ただいまより搭乗を開始いたします。 "We will now begin boarding." (開始いたします = humble for 開始します)

お席にお着きになりましたら、シートベルトをお締めください。 "Once you have taken your seat, please fasten your seatbelt."

まもなく着陸いたします。 "We will be landing shortly." (着陸いたします = humble for 着陸します)

18.4 Common Errors and Hypercorrection

Keigo is difficult even for native Japanese speakers. Errors are common, especially among younger speakers and those in customer-service training. Recognizing common errors is useful both for understanding imperfect real-world Japanese and for avoiding these mistakes yourself when you begin producing keigo.

させていただく overuse

The construction させていただく literally means "receive permission to do" (させる [causative] + いただく [humble receive]). It is appropriate when:

1. The speaker is doing something with the listener's permission, and
2. The speaker benefits from being allowed to do it.

Appropriate use:

本日は早退させていただきます。 "I will be leaving early today." (The speaker has their boss's permission and benefits from leaving early.)

この資料をコピーさせていただいてもよろしいですか。 "May I copy this document?" (Asking for permission, benefiting from the copy.)

Overuse (common in modern Japanese):

ご説明させていただきます。 "I will explain." (No permission is being asked for. The speaker is just explaining.)

担当させていただいております田中です。 "I am Tanaka, who is in charge." (Being in charge does not require the customer's permission.)

本日は休業させていただきます。 "We will be closed today." (The shop does not need the customer's permission to close.)

This overuse of させていただく has become extremely widespread. Many Japanese speakers and language commentators criticize it, but it continues to spread because speakers feel it sounds humble and safe. For comprehension, simply recognize させていただく as a humble way of saying "I will do X" — the permission nuance may or may not be literally intended.

The simpler alternative is usually いたします:

二重敬語 — Double keigo

二重敬語 means applying two layers of the same keigo category to a single verb. This is considered a grammatical error in standard Japanese, though some double-keigo forms have become accepted through long use.

Common errors:

*お読みになられる (お読みになる [尊敬語] + られる [尊敬語] = double respectful — incorrect) Correct: お読みになる

*おっしゃられる (おっしゃる [尊敬語] + られる [尊敬語] = double respectful — incorrect) Correct: おっしゃる

*お召し上がりになる (お〜になる [尊敬語 pattern] applied to 召し上がる [already 尊敬語] = double respectful — incorrect) Correct: 召し上がる

The rule: Do not add the お〜になる pattern to an irregular 尊敬語 verb. Do not add the passive-as-respectful られる to an お〜になる form. One layer of respectful language per verb is correct.

Accepted exceptions:

お召し上がりください

This is technically double keigo (お + 召し上がる + ください), but it has been used for so long that the 文化審議会 has classified it as acceptable. Similarly, お伺いする (お + 伺う + する) is technically double keigo but widely accepted.

The lesson: know the rule, but do not be surprised when you encounter violations. Language evolves, and some "errors" become standard through widespread use.

Misapplying 尊敬語 to yourself

A fundamental rule: 尊敬語 is for other people's actions, never your own. Applying 尊敬語 to yourself is a clear error.

*明日、私がいらっしゃいます。 (incorrect — using 尊敬語 for yourself) Correct: 明日、私が参ります。 (丁重語)

*私がおっしゃったように... (incorrect — using 尊敬語 for yourself) Correct: 私が申し上げたように... (謙譲語 I)

Misapplying 謙譲語 to the other person

The reverse error: using humble language for a respected person's actions.

*社長が参りました。 (incorrect — humbling the president) Correct: 社長がいらっしゃいました。 (尊敬語)

*先生が申されました。 (incorrect — humbling the teacher) Correct: 先生がおっしゃいました。 (尊敬語)

よろしかったでしょうか

こちらでよろしかったでしょうか。 "Was this all right?"

This past-tense form (よろしかった) when asking about a present situation is considered a バイト敬語 (part-time-job keigo) error by prescriptivists. The standard form is:

こちらでよろしいでしょうか。 "Is this all right?"

However, よろしかったでしょうか has become so common in service settings that many speakers no longer register it as an error. You will hear it frequently.

18.5 Reading Passage — Business Email Exchange

The following is a short business email exchange. Read through it, identify the keigo forms, and translate the content.

件名：打ち合わせ日程のご確認

株式会社山田商事 営業部　佐藤様

いつもお世話になっております。 東京電子の田中でございます。

先日はお忙しい中、お時間をいただきありがとうございました。 お話しいただいた新しいプロジェクトについて、社内で検討いたしました。 ぜひ参加させていただきたいと考えております。

つきましては、詳細を打ち合わせるお時間をいただけないでしょうか。 来週でしたら、火曜日か木曜日の午後が都合がよいのですが、 佐藤様のご都合はいかがでしょうか。

お忙しいところ恐れ入りますが、 ご検討のほどよろしくお願い申し上げます。

東京電子株式会社 企画部　田中一郎

件名：Re: 打ち合わせ日程のご確認

東京電子株式会社 企画部　田中様

お世話になっております。 山田商事の佐藤でございます。

ご連絡ありがとうございます。 プロジェクトへのご参加、大変うれしく存じます。

来週の木曜日、午後二時はいかがでしょうか。 弊社の会議室をご用意いたします。

お越しの際は、一階の受付にお声がけくださいませ。 担当の者がご案内いたします。

それでは、お会いできるのを楽しみにしております。 よろしくお願いいたします。

山田商事株式会社 営業部　佐藤花子

Translation

Subject: Confirmation of meeting schedule

Yamada Trading Co., Ltd. Sales Department, Mr./Ms. Sato

Thank you for your continued support. This is Tanaka from Tokyo Electronics.

Thank you for taking the time the other day despite being busy. We have discussed the new project you told us about within our company. We would very much like to participate.

With that in mind, would it be possible to have some time to discuss the details? If it is next week, Tuesday or Thursday afternoon would work for us. What would be convenient for you, Mr./Ms. Sato?

I am sorry to trouble you when you are busy, but I would appreciate your consideration.

Tokyo Electronics Co., Ltd. Planning Department, Ichiro Tanaka

Subject: Re: Confirmation of meeting schedule

Tokyo Electronics Co., Ltd. Planning Department, Mr./Ms. Tanaka

Thank you for your continued support. This is Sato from Yamada Trading.

Thank you for contacting me. I am very pleased about your participation in the project.

How about Thursday of next week at 2:00 PM? I will prepare a meeting room at our company.

When you come, please speak to the reception on the first floor. The person in charge will show you the way.

I look forward to meeting you. Best regards.

Yamada Trading Co., Ltd. Sales Department, Hanako Sato

Keigo analysis

Key keigo forms in the first email:

Key keigo forms in the reply:

18.6 Reading Passage — Customer Service Interaction

The following is a customer service interaction at a department store. Read through it and identify the keigo patterns.

店員：いらっしゃいませ。何かお探しでしょうか。

客：すみません、このかばんの色違いはありますか。

店員：はい、少々お待ちくださいませ。ただいまお調べいたします。 （しばらくして） お待たせいたしました。こちらに黒と茶色がございます。

客：茶色を見せてもらえますか。

店員：かしこまりました。どうぞ、お手に取ってご覧くださいませ。

客：これはいくらですか。

店員：こちらは一万二千円でございます。ただいまセール中で、二割引きになっております。

客：じゃあ、これにします。

店員：ありがとうございます。プレゼント用でいらっしゃいますか。

客：はい、お願いします。

店員：かしこまりました。お包みいたしますので、少々お待ちくださいませ。 （しばらくして） お待たせいたしました。こちらでございます。お会計は九千六百円でございます。

客：カードで払えますか。

店員：はい、承っております。こちらにカードをお入れください。

客：ありがとうございます。

店員：ありがとうございました。またのお越しをお待ちしております。

Translation

Clerk: Welcome. Are you looking for something?

Customer: Excuse me, do you have this bag in a different color?

Clerk: Yes, please wait a moment. I will check right away. (After a short while) Sorry to have kept you waiting. We have black and brown here.

Customer: Could you show me the brown one?

Clerk: Certainly. Please, feel free to pick it up and have a look.

Customer: How much is this?

Clerk: This one is 12,000 yen. We are currently having a sale, so it is 20% off.

Customer: Then I will take this one.

Clerk: Thank you. Is this for a gift?

Customer: Yes, please.

Clerk: Certainly. I will wrap it for you, so please wait a moment. (After a short while) Sorry for the wait. Here you are. The total is 9,600 yen.

Customer: Can I pay by card?

Clerk: Yes, we accept cards. Please insert your card here.

Customer: Thank you.

Clerk: Thank you very much. We look forward to your next visit.

Keigo analysis

Notice the asymmetry. The clerk uses keigo constantly. The customer uses basic polite Japanese (です/ます). This is normal. In a customer-service interaction, the service provider elevates the customer and humbles themselves. The customer is not expected to reciprocate with keigo.

Key clerk keigo forms:

18.7 Vocabulary List

Business, customer service, and announcement vocabulary from this chapter.