Keigo Basics: Sonkeigo, Kenjougo, and Teineigo Explained Clearly

Overview

Here is the short version: keigo is Japanese polite language used to manage social distance, respect, and roles. In practice, most learners need to understand three categories:

• Teineigo: standard polite language, usually built with です and ます
• Sonkeigo: respectful language that raises the other person or the person being talked about
• Kenjougo: humble language that lowers the speaker or the speaker’s in-group to show respect to the other person

If that sounds abstract, think of it this way:

• Use teineigo when you want to sound polite.
• Use sonkeigo when talking about what the customer, client, teacher, boss, or other respected person does.
• Use kenjougo when talking about what you do for that person, or what someone in your group does in relation to them.

In business keigo, the hardest part is not memorizing a few special verbs. It is deciding whose action is being described, whose status is being raised, and whether the situation is formal enough to require more than ordinary polite speech.

For many learners, that is also why direct Japanese translation can be tricky. A sentence that looks simple in English may require a very different level of politeness in Japanese. If you want to compare literal and natural phrasing, see English to Japanese Translation Guide: Natural Phrasing vs Literal Translation.

Core framework

This section gives you a decision system you can reuse. When you need keigo, ask yourself four questions.

1. Who is doing the action?

This is the most important question. If the action belongs to the other person or someone you want to honor, sonkeigo may be appropriate. If the action belongs to you or your side, kenjougo may be appropriate. If neither special raising nor lowering is needed, teineigo may be enough.

2. Who is the listener?

Even when the action does not require sonkeigo or kenjougo, the listener may still require polite speech. That is why です and ます are the baseline in many workplaces. In other words, teineigo is often the floor, and sonkeigo or kenjougo are added when needed.

3. Is this outside or inside your group?

Japanese often treats your company, family, or team as your in-group. When speaking to an outsider such as a client, you usually avoid raising your own side. That means you may refer to your own boss or colleague humbly when speaking to a customer, even if that person outranks you internally.

This inside-outside distinction explains many business keigo patterns that confuse learners at first.

4. How formal is the situation?

A quick hallway exchange with a close coworker is different from a phone call with a client. A casual chat after work is different from a formal email. Keigo exists on a scale, and natural speech depends on matching the moment rather than sounding maximally formal at all times.

Teineigo: the polite base

Teineigo is the easiest category to start with and the one you should master first. It uses polite endings such as:

• です
• ます
• でした
• ません
• でしょう

Examples:

• これは資料です。 = This is a document.
• 明日連絡します。 = I will contact you tomorrow.
• 少々お待ちください。 = Please wait a moment.

Teineigo is often enough in many ordinary professional situations. Not every sentence needs special keigo verbs.

Sonkeigo: raising the other person

Sonkeigo is used when referring to the actions of the person you want to show respect to. In business Japanese, this is often the customer, client, visitor, teacher, or someone senior in a formal setting.

Common sonkeigo patterns include:

• Special respectful verbs
• お／ご + verb stem + になる
• Passive-like respectful forms in some set expressions

Common examples:

• 言う → おっしゃる
• 行く / 来る / いる → いらっしゃる
• 見る → ご覧になる
• 食べる / 飲む → 召し上がる
• 知っている → ご存じです

Examples in sentences:

• 部長はもうお帰りになりました。 = The department head has already gone home.
• 社長はその件をご存じです。 = The company president knows about that matter.
• こちらでお待ちになりますか。 = Will you wait here?

Notice that sonkeigo does not simply make the whole sentence polite. It specifically elevates the subject whose action is being described.

Kenjougo: lowering yourself or your side

Kenjougo is used when describing your own actions in a way that humbly positions them relative to the other person. This is extremely common in business interactions because you often talk about what you will do for a client or what your company has done.

Common kenjougo verbs include:

• 言う → 申す / 申し上げる
• 行く / 来る → 参る
• いる → おる
• 見る → 拝見する
• 聞く / 尋ねる → 伺う
• 会う → お目にかかる
• もらう → いただく
• する → いたす
• 知っている → 存じている

Examples:

• 後ほどご連絡いたします。 = I will contact you later.
• 資料を拝見しました。 = I looked over the materials.
• 明日、そちらに伺います。 = I will visit you there tomorrow.
• 山田と申します。 = My name is Yamada.

Many fixed business phrases rely on kenjougo, which is why learners encounter it quickly in emails, calls, and introductions.

A practical shortcut

If you are unsure which type to use, start here:

1. Make the sentence polite with です / ます.
2. Identify the action verb.
3. If the action belongs to the customer or respected person, consider sonkeigo.
4. If the action belongs to you in relation to that person, consider kenjougo.
5. If you are still unsure, keep the sentence simple rather than forcing an unnatural keigo form.

This matters because awkward keigo can sound more unnatural than straightforward polite Japanese.

If you need a refresher on verb changes before layering keigo on top, see Japanese Verb Conjugation Chart: Plain, Polite, Negative, Past, and Te-Form and Te-Form Japanese Guide: How to Connect Actions, Make Requests, and Give Permission.

Practical examples

The fastest way to understand keigo explained clearly is to compare plain, polite, respectful, and humble versions side by side.

Introducing yourself

• Plain: 山田です。
• Polite: 山田です。
• Humble: 山田と申します。

In business settings, 山田と申します is a standard self-introduction because it humbly presents your name.

Saying “I will contact you”

• Polite: ご連絡します。
• More formal humble: ご連絡いたします。

Both may appear in workplace Japanese, but いたします is more formal and common in business communication.

Talking about a customer waiting

• Polite: お客様は待っています。
• Respectful: お客様はお待ちです。
• Respectful alternative: お客様はお待ちになっています。

The respectful forms sound more suitable when speaking about a customer or honored guest.

Asking if someone has seen a document

• Polite: 資料を見ましたか。
• Respectful: 資料をご覧になりましたか。

When speaking to a client, teacher, or senior person, ご覧になる is a common sonkeigo choice.

Saying “I saw the document”

• Polite: 資料を見ました。
• Humble: 資料を拝見しました。

拝見しました is a staple of business Japanese and appears in speech and email.

Visiting someone’s office

• Polite: 明日行きます。
• Humble: 明日伺います。
• Humble alternative: 明日参ります。

伺います often carries the nuance of visiting or asking. 参ります is also humble, but the best fit depends on the exact context.

Useful workplace set phrases

• よろしくお願いいたします。 = Thank you in advance / I appreciate your cooperation.
• 少々お待ちください。 = Please wait a moment.
• 確認いたします。 = I will confirm it.
• 承知しました。 = Understood.
• かしこまりました。 = Certainly / Understood. (often in customer service)
• お世話になっております。 = Thank you for your continued support. (common in business email and calls)

These expressions are worth learning as chunks rather than translating word by word. They are part of natural business keigo.

Email and phone nuance

Keigo often becomes more visible in email and on the phone because there are fewer nonverbal clues and the exchange tends to be more formal. Common patterns include:

• 確認いたしました = I have confirmed
• 送付いたします = I will send
• ご確認ください = Please confirm
• ご都合のよいお時間 = a convenient time for you

If you work with names, titles, and honorifics in these situations, it also helps to understand how they are handled in translation. See How to Translate Japanese Names, Honorifics, and Titles Correctly.

Common mistakes

Most keigo mistakes come from logic problems, not from lack of effort. Here are the issues learners run into most often.

1. Using sonkeigo for your own actions

This is one of the classic mistakes. If you say something equivalent to “I honorably went,” you may sound as if you are raising yourself. In business settings, your own actions toward the client usually take kenjougo, not sonkeigo.

Wrong direction:

• 私がご覧になります。

Better:

• 私が拝見します。

2. Overusing keigo in every sentence

Natural Japanese does not require a special respectful or humble form for every single verb. Overloading a sentence can make it heavy and hard to follow. Often the most natural choice is a polite sentence with one keigo verb where it matters.

3. Mixing levels awkwardly

A sentence may begin in formal style and suddenly drop into casual or plain style. This often happens when learners memorize isolated phrases without noticing register. Try to keep the level of politeness consistent within the same exchange.

4. Forgetting the in-group and out-group distinction

When speaking to a client, do not automatically use sonkeigo for your own boss or company representative. From the client’s perspective, your side is the in-group, so humble or neutral forms may be more natural.

5. Translating English directly

English often expresses politeness through tone, word choice, or indirect phrasing, while Japanese may require a specific honorific or humble verb. A direct Japanese to English translation or English to Japanese translation may miss the relationship dynamics if you focus only on dictionary meanings.

That is one reason good Japanese language learning includes context, not just vocabulary lists. A translation app can help you check words, but it may not fully explain why one keigo form fits better than another. For reference tools, see Best Japanese Dictionaries and Translation Apps Compared.

6. Assuming keigo is only for very advanced learners

You do not need to master every formal pattern before using keigo. In fact, a few reliable forms will carry you far:

• 申します
• いたします
• 伺います
• 拝見します
• ございます
• ご確認ください

Learning these early makes real workplace interactions easier.

7. Ignoring pronunciation and delivery

Even correct keigo can sound abrupt if spoken too quickly, too softly, or with unnatural pauses. In professional Japanese, calm delivery matters. Clear pronunciation, steady pace, and complete sentence endings often improve the impression more than adding extra-formal words.

When to revisit

Keigo is not a one-time topic. Revisit it whenever your role, setting, or study level changes. The best time to review keigo basics is not only when you feel confused, but when your real-world use becomes more specific.

Come back to this guide when:

• You start a new job in Japan or begin using Japanese with clients
• You move from classroom Japanese to phone calls, meetings, or email
• You notice that plain polite speech is no longer enough in customer-facing situations
• You begin translating workplace messages and need to judge tone accurately
• You are preparing for interviews, internships, or formal self-introductions

A practical study plan

If you want to use keigo confidently, do not try to memorize everything at once. Use this repeatable process:

1. Master polite Japanese first. If です / ます forms are not automatic yet, keigo will feel unstable.
2. Learn the highest-frequency keigo verbs. Start with いらっしゃる, ご覧になる, 申す, いたす, 伺う, 拝見する, and いただく.
3. Study in pairs. Learn sonkeigo and kenjougo side by side: ご覧になる / 拝見する, おっしゃる / 申す, 召し上がる / いただく.
4. Practice by role. Make three columns: customer actions, your actions, neutral polite actions.
5. Collect set phrases from real contexts. Emails, reception desks, phone greetings, and meeting openings are especially useful.
6. Keep a personal keigo sheet. Write down phrases you actually need for your work or study.

A simple reference note can include:

• Self-introduction phrases
• Email openings and closings
• Phone expressions
• Request and confirmation language
• Common customer-service expressions

If you type Japanese regularly while building those notes, this may help: Japanese Keyboard Guide: How to Type Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji on Any Device.

What “good enough” looks like

For most learners, success does not mean producing perfect formal Japanese in every situation. It means you can:

• Recognize whether a phrase is respectful, humble, or simply polite
• Avoid obvious direction mistakes
• Use a small set of dependable business keigo expressions naturally
• Adjust your language when talking to customers, teachers, supervisors, and colleagues

That is a realistic and useful standard. As your Japanese lessons continue, your keigo will become more accurate through exposure and repetition.

Keigo is best learned as a working system, not as a list of intimidating exceptions. Start with the relationship, identify who is acting, choose between polite, respectful, or humble language, and keep your phrasing simple enough to stay natural. If you return to that framework each time, sonkeigo, kenjougo, and teineigo become much easier to manage.