LEARN + JAPANESE / Note 146 JLPT N4

Speaking Up, Speaking Down (お〜になる・お〜する)

Wrapping a verb’s stem in お〜になる shows respect for someone else’s action, raising them up. Wrapping your own action in お〜する does the opposite, lowering yourself to show humility toward the listener. Both are common in business and formal settings.

In Real Life
着く becomes お着きになる, 聞く becomes お聞きになる, wrapping the verb’s stem between お and になる. Some verbs skip this pattern entirely for a completely irregular respectful form instead: 行く/来る/いる become いらっしゃる, 言う becomes おっしゃる, する becomes なさる, 見る becomes ご覧になる, 食べる becomes 召し上がる.
In Real Life
相談する becomes ご相談する, 案内する becomes お案内する, the same お/ご plus verb-stem pattern, but attached to する instead of になる to describe your own action humbly. Verbs of Chinese origin (漢語) usually take ご, native Japanese verbs (和語) usually take お, though there are exceptions worth just memorizing case by case.
In Real Life
お〜しましょうか politely offers to do something for someone, “shall I,” a common combination in service settings. Irregular humble forms exist here too: 行く/来る become まいる, する becomes いたす, 見る becomes 拝見する, もらう becomes いただく.

Vocabulary

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