Video
Let’s watch this short video for a quick overview.
Source: gokigen japanese official YouTube Channel
Introduction
You already know there are a handful of special honorific verbs like いらっしゃる and 召し上がる. But how do we show respect for all the other verbs—“read,” “return,” “meet,” and so on?
The answer is the versatile pattern お + verb-stem + になる. Master this and you can honorify hundreds of actions in seconds. Let’s see how it works!
1. Structure and Meaning
Pattern: お + verb stem + になる
Meaning: “(Honored person) does/will do …”
| Plain verb | Stem | Honorific form | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 読む | 読み | お読みになります | (Someone esteemed) reads |
| 帰る | 帰り | お帰りになります | returns |
| 会う | 会い | お会いになります | meets |
The subject must be the person you respect (teacher, customer, boss, etc.), never yourself.
2. How to Form It
- Take the ます-form, drop ます → verb stem.
- Add お before the stem.
- Add になる after it.
- Conjugate になる as needed.
Quick chart
| Tense / Polarity | Formula | Example (読む) |
|---|---|---|
| Present polite | お + stem + になります | 先生はこの本を お読みになります。 |
| Negative polite | お + stem + になりません | 先生はこの本を お読みになりません。 |
| Past polite | お + stem + になりました | 先生はこの本を お読みになりました。 |
| Past negative polite | お + stem + になりませんでした | 先生はこの本をお読みになりませんでした。 |
3. Example Sentences
先生は五時にお帰りになります。
The teacher leaves at five.
部長は今、お客様にお会いになっています。
The department manager is meeting a client now.
社長はスマホをお使いになりません。
The president doesn’t use a smartphone.
先生、もうこの論文をお読みになりましたか。
Professor, have you read this paper yet?
4. Special Case: ご-N + になる / ご-N + なさる
Note that verbs with the kanji word + する (説明する, 連絡する, 卒業する, etc.) structure show irregularity.
These verbs may take the prefix ご instead of お, and some of them take the ご…なさる format.
| Plain | Honorific A | Honorific B |
|---|---|---|
| 説明する (to explain) | ご説明になります | ご説明なさいます |
| 連絡する (to contract) | ご連絡になります | ご連絡なさいます |
| 卒業する (to graduate) | ご卒業になります | ご卒業なさいます |
A is perfectly polite; B feels one notch loftier.
5. Extra Tip: Common Honorific Vocabulary
In addition to honorific verb patterns, Japanese also has many common respectful words and expressions that are used in everyday polite conversation.
| normal | polite | English |
|---|---|---|
| どこ | どちら | where |
| だれ | どなた | who |
| 子ども | お子さん | child |
Common words with respectful prefixes:
- お名前 = name
- お仕事 = work / job
- ご職業 = occupation
- ご趣味 = hobby
- ご家族 = family
- ご都合 = convenience / availability
6. Practice Drill
Convert to honorific (polite):
| Plain cue | Answer | English |
|---|---|---|
| 部長はたばこを吸う。 | 部長はたばこをお吸いになります。 | The department head smokes cigarettes. |
| 先生は英語で話す。 | 先生は英語でお話しになります。 | The teacher speaks in English. |
| 社長は７時に出かける。 | 社長は７時にお出かけになります。 | The president will be leaving at 7 o’clock. |
| 先輩は手紙を書く。 | 先輩は手紙をお書きになります。 | The senior writes a letter. |
Challenge: Honorify the verbs 書く, 作る, 歩く.
7. Common Mistakes
| Mistake | Why wrong | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| × 社長は車を使います。 | Plain verb—sounds blunt. | ✓ 社長は車をお使いになります。 |
| × 私は五時にお帰りになります。 | Never honorify your own action. | ✓ 私は五時に帰ります。 |
8. FAQ
- QCan I use お〜になる for any verb, or are there exceptions?
- A
You can apply お〜になる to almost any verb in Japanese, making it a very versatile pattern. The main exceptions are the common special honorific verbs (like いらっしゃる, 召し上がる, おっしゃる, なさる, くださる, ご覧になる) that have unique, irregular forms. For these six, you should always use their specific honorific replacement rather than お〜になる.
- QWhat’s the difference between ご〜になります and ご〜なさいます for する verbs?
- A
Both are correct and highly polite forms.
ご〜なさいます: This uses the special honorific verbなさる(forする) within the compound. It can sound slightly more formal, traditional, or carry a subtly higher degree of respect in certain contexts.ご〜になります: This is a standard and perfectly polite way to honorify noun +するverbs. It’s very common and widely used.
- QCan I combine お〜になる with the special honorific verbs (e.g., お召し上がりになります)?
- A
Grammatically speaking, it’s considered incorrect because it falls under what’s called “double honorifics” (二重敬語 – nijū keigo). However, in modern Japanese, this kind of expression like お召し上がりになります is widely used, and many people don’t see any problem with it.
Conclusion
With お + verb-stem + になる you can honorify virtually any verb outside the special list. Remember:
- ✅ Use お for native verbs, ご for many する compounds.
- ✅ Conjugate になる for tense and negativity.
- ✅ Never apply it to yourself.
Practice daily conversations: pick three plain sentences, convert them using this pattern, and you’ll sound respectfully fluent in no time!
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