What Is Sonkeigo?
尊敬語 (そんけいご) is the branch of Japanese honorific language used to elevate and show respect toward the person performing an action — that is, the subject of the sentence. You use it when talking about the actions of someone you wish to honour: a customer, a teacher, a superior, or an elder.
💡 Sonkeigo vs Kenjougo — a crucial distinction: Sonkeigo raises up the other person’s actions. Its counterpart, 謙譲語 (けんじょうご, humble language), lowers your own actions to show respect indirectly. This lesson covers sonkeigo; never use sonkeigo for your own actions — that would be like praising yourself.
There are three main ways to form honorific expressions:
- Using special honorific verbs
- Using the お＋Vになる structure
- Using the passive-style form Vれる／Vられる
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