Production Rules:
| Rule | お + [い-stem] & に なる o + [i-stem] & ni naru |
お + [い-stem] & なさる o + [i-stem] & nasaru |
| Meaning | to [do] | to [do] |
Inflection Examples:
| 変える kaeru (to change) |
お変えになる okae ni naru | お変えなさる okae nasaru |
| 話す hanasu (to speak) |
お話しになる ohanashi ni naru | お話しなさる ohanashi nasaru |
| 歩く aruku (to walk) |
お歩きになる oaruki ni naru | お歩きなさる oaruki nasaru |
| 泳ぐ oyogu (to swim) |
お泳ぎになる ooyogi ni naru | お泳ぎなさる ooyogi nasaru |
| 呼ぶ yobu (to call) |
お呼びになる oyobi ni naru | お呼びなさる oyobi nasaru |
| 飲む nomu (to drink) |
お飲みになる onomi ni naru | お飲みなさる onomi nasaru |
| 死ぬ shinu (to die) |
お亡くなりになる onakunari ni naru* | お亡くなりなさる onakunari nasaru* |
| 作る tsukuru (to make) |
お作りになる otsukuri ni naru | お作りなさる otsukuri nasaru |
| 待つ matsu (to wait) |
お待ちになる omachi ni naru | お待ちなさる omachi nasaru |
| 洗う arau (to wash) |
お洗いになる oarai ni naru | お洗いなさる oarai nasaru |
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Usage Notes: The above represents common patterns for how verbs are made honorific, but the fact is that keigo is extremely complex. There are many exceptions governing how particular verbs are made honorific, depending on what forms have survived to modern times, as well as particular ways of expressing certain sentiments. For instance, notice that "taberu" could not be used as a model verb here (see below) and that a different verb entirely is used in place of "shinu". It would be advisable to check a reliable source for any particular case. Honorific forms are used only when a person other than the speaker (or a member of the speaker's group) is the subject. The subject of an honorific, in general, must be a person. This can be the listener or a third party. It elevates the position of the subject to show politeness to that person. This is a separate function from that provided by the "normal polite" forms ("desu", "masu"), which show politeness to the listener regardless of the subject. So for instance, if you're talking to an employee of a client company, you may speak of that company's president honorifically, but you still need the "masu" forms to show politeness to the employee you're speaking to. This remains true even if the subject of the honorific and the listener are the same person. Note that some verbs have inherently polite or honorific counterparts that are used in their place when an honorific is called for. Common Examples:
* This is not actually honorific, since it applies only to inanimate things. It is neutrally polite. However, you might use it in situations in which honorific forms are called for. For verbs that conjugate as noun + "suru", where the noun involved is of Chinese origin (i.e. the "on" reading of the kanji is used), generally the noun is prefixed with "go-" and "suru" becomes "nasaru". For example, "benkyou suru" becomes "gobenkyou nasaru". Usage Examples: |