Keigo Japanese Verbs: Sonkeigo vs Kenjōgo

Keigo Japanese verbs are difficult because you are not only changing grammar; you are showing who deserves respect in the situation. The key question is simple: whose action are you describing?

If the action belongs to a client, customer, guest, teacher, interviewer, or senior person outside your group, you often use sonkeigo, or respectful language. If the action belongs to you or your own side when speaking to someone outside that side, you often use kenjōgo, or humble language. The common search spelling “kenjougo” appears online, but strict Hepburn romaji is kenjōgo.

If you are still new to honorific language overall, start with Keigo Explained for Beginners: Japanese Honorifics, then come back to this verb-focused guide.

The Three Verb Choices in Keigo

Keigo verbs usually ask you to choose between respectful, humble, and polite forms.

Sonkeigo raises the other person’s action. Use it for a client, customer, guest, teacher, interviewer, or someone whose action you want to honor.

Kenjōgo lowers your own action, or your group’s action, when speaking to someone outside your group. It does not mean you are insulting yourself. It means you are placing the listener higher.

Teineigo is polite language, usually ending in -masu or desu. It is not as socially marked as sonkeigo or kenjōgo, but it is the base level for most business Japanese.

For example, “to go” can change depending on who goes:

• A client goes: use respectful “go.”
• You go to a client’s office: use humble “go.”
• You simply speak politely: use polite “go.”

From a teacher’s perspective, learners often know the English meaning of keigo verbs but freeze when deciding the action owner. Before choosing the verb, ask: Is this my action, the listener’s action, or a third person’s action?

Core Keigo Verbs to Learn First

The most useful keigo verbs are not always made by a simple rule. Many are irregular verbs, so it is better to learn them as fixed pairs with context.

The irregular verbs nasaru, irassharu, ukagau, itadaku, and mōsu appear very often in business Japanese. They are worth memorising early because they do not behave like ordinary textbook substitutions.

A short cultural note: Japanese workplace politeness often depends on uchi/soto, meaning “inside group” and “outside group.” When speaking to a client, your company is usually treated as your inside group, so you normally humble your own company’s actions and honor the client’s actions.

Choosing Sonkeigo or Kenjōgo in the Workplace

The fastest way to choose correctly is to identify the speaker, listener, and action owner.

Use sonkeigo when the action owner is the person you are respecting:

• A client says something.
• A guest comes to your office.
• A professor looks at your document.
• An interviewer asks a question.

Use kenjōgo when the action owner is you or your side:

• You visit a client.
• You ask a client a question.
• Your company sends a document.
• You look at a customer’s file.

Use teineigo when the situation is polite but not strongly hierarchical:

• Talking with a classmate you do not know well.
• Speaking politely in a general service situation.
• Explaining your routine in a lesson.

Client-facing keigo and internal workplace tone are not the same. A direct phrase can be grammatically correct but still too abrupt for a client. For example, a plain “I will check” may be acceptable internally, but in a client message you may need a humble verb to show that your side is doing the action respectfully.

Inside your own workplace, you may use respectful language about a manager when speaking internally. But when speaking to a client about your own manager, you usually should not honor your manager above the client. This is one of the most common places where teacher correction helps.

Example Sentences in Context

These examples show the action owner clearly. Read the Japanese line, then the romaji, then the English meaning.

明日、御社に伺います。 Ashita, onsha ni ukagaimasu. I will visit your company tomorrow.

社長はもういらっしゃいますか。 Shachō wa mō irasshaimasu ka. Is the company president already here?

資料を拝見しました。 Shiryō o haiken shimashita. I looked at the materials.

山田と申します。 Yamada to mōshimasu. My name is Yamada.

The last sentence uses mōsu in the natural humble self-introduction pattern “X to mōshimasu.” Avoid using a respectful prefix for your own name. The point is not “I will state my name,” but “I am called X” in a humble, professional way.

Common Mistakes

Learners often choose the right English meaning but the wrong social direction.

Using sonkeigo for yourself. Saying a respectful verb for your own action can sound as if you are raising yourself. If you are visiting a client, use humble language such as ukagau, not respectful language for the client’s action.

Using kenjōgo for the client. Humble verbs lower the action owner. Do not use itadaku or ukagau for a client’s action unless the grammar and relationship really call for it. For a client coming, irassharu is usually the safer respectful choice.

Treating teineigo as enough for every business situation. Polite -masu forms are useful, but client-facing business Japanese often needs a clearer distinction between your action and the client’s action.

Copying internal speech into client messages. Internally, you may say that your manager said something using respectful language. To a client, your manager belongs to your side, so the wording often changes.

A teacher correction might look like this:

• Speaker: you
• Listener: client
• Action owner: your company
• Intended meaning: “We will check the document.”
• Problem: too direct for a client-facing message
• Better direction: humble form because your side is doing the action
• Natural LINE-safe practice sentence: “I will check the document” using humble business tone

This kind of correction trains the decision process, not only the final sentence.

How a Tutor Can Correct Keigo Verbs

A tutor can help you slow down the choice before you speak. Instead of memorising long lists only, you practise identifying who does the action and how the relationship changes the verb.

In a standard Kind Japanese one-on-one lesson, the 25-minute LINE flow can be focused and practical:

1. Warm-up: say what kind of workplace or client situation you want to practise.
2. Target task: describe one action, such as visiting, asking, checking, receiving, or introducing yourself.
3. Teacher correction: mark the speaker, listener, action owner, and whether the verb should be sonkeigo, kenjōgo, or teineigo.
4. Repeat: say the corrected version aloud until it feels usable.
5. Next question list: keep your own questions in LINE so you can bring them into a future lesson.

If you live outside Japan, propose lesson windows in your own time zone clearly. For example, say that you prefer evenings in your country or give a specific local-time range. Avoid vague wording like “night time” without saying whose night time you mean.

If your vocabulary foundation is still shaky, review basic words with the Japanese Beginner Vocabulary Quiz: 50 Essential N5 Words. Keigo becomes much easier when the plain verbs are already automatic.

For personalised teacher correction on keigo verbs in real speaking situations, book a Free Trial lesson with Kind Japanese over LINE.

FAQ

Are keigo verbs necessary for beginners?

Beginners do not need to master every keigo verb immediately, but learning the basic idea early helps. Start with polite -masu forms, then add common respectful and humble verbs such as irassharu, ukagau, itadaku, and mōsu as fixed expressions.

What is the difference between sonkeigo and kenjōgo?

Sonkeigo raises the action of the person you respect, such as a client or teacher. Kenjōgo humbles your own action, or your group’s action, when speaking to someone outside that group. The verb choice depends on the action owner, not only the English meaning.

Is teineigo enough for business Japanese?

Teineigo is a good base, but it is not always enough in client-facing business Japanese. Polite forms sound courteous, yet they may not show the relationship clearly. When talking to or about a client, sonkeigo and kenjōgo often make the sentence more natural.

Why are keigo irregular verbs so hard?

Many common keigo verbs are irregular, so learners cannot always build them from normal conjugation rules. Verbs like nasaru, irassharu, ukagau, itadaku, and mōsu need direct practice in context. Speaking practice helps you connect each form to the right relationship.