Sunday, May 7, 2017

Humble Verbs

There's a set of special verbs that can be used if you're speaking with someone of higher rank and want to speak modestly of your own actions. They're almost always conjugated to ます form to express proper politeness. Using these verbs is somewhat similar to adding "sir" or "madam" to the end of your sentence.

いる      おる       おります
行く       参る       参ります
来る
言う      申す       申します
する      いたす       いたします
食べる     いただく     いただきます
飲む
ある      ござる      ございます
~ている    ~ておる     ~ております
~です     ~でござる    ~でございます

The above shows the original verbs, their corresponding humble forms, and their conjugations, some of which are irregular. I'm going to use Genki's example sentences now, since this is my first time learning about humble forms.

私は来年も日本におります。
I will be in Japan next year too, sir/ma'am.

私は今年の六月に大学を卒業いたしました。
I graduated from college this June, sir/ma'am.

私は一年間日本語を勉強しております。
I've been studying Japanese for a year.

Humble verbs can also be used to modestly speak of your family or the company you work for. People who work at shops often use humble language when speaking of themselves or their stores to customers. It's also used in public announcements, like at train stations, for example.

電車が参ります。
A train is pulling in.

お手洗いは二階でございます。
The restroom is on the second floor.

Sentences with ございます are fairly rare and not often heard outside of formal business situations. Also keep in mind that you cannot speak of someone else's actions with humble verbs, because they are only used to paint yourself or a subject related to you in a humble light.

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