0006 : Japanese basics (N5-N3) : Politeness in Japanese

grammar
24.02.2023

 

Why are the verbs in Japanese textbooks different from those in the dictionary? What are です and ます?

 

 

Language Politeness

 

When we SPEAK Japanese, we have to choose whether to speak politely or not.

There is no neutral style.

 

Even “thank you” has a polite way of saying it: 

ありがとう。(Arigatou : Thank you)

ありがとうございます。(Arigatou gozaimasu : thank you) : polite!

 

Or even “This is an apple.” can be said politely.

これはリンゴだ。(Kore wa ringo da : This is an apple.)

これはリンゴです。(Kore wa ringo desu : This is an apple.) : Polite!

 

2 types of politeness

 

There are two main types of politeness in Japanese:

 

  • Speaking politely
  • Talking politely about the subject

 

Speaking politely

 

This politeness is what we’ve just seen above and is used to express our (the speaker’s) polite attitude.

So we can choose whether to speak politely to the listener or not.

 

We usually use it with strangers, older people, customers, bosses or managers, etc.

 

Talk politely about the subject

 

This politeness is used to show respect for the subject of the sentence.

For example, we use it when talking about something the boss has done: 

 

社長がご飯を食べる。(Syachou ga gohan wo taberu : The boss is going to eat.)

社長がご飯をお食べになる。(Syachou ga gohan wo o tabe ni naru : The boss is going to eat a meal.) – Showing respect for the action (eating) of the boss.

 

And as a result, we can combine, Speaking politely and Talking politely about the subject.

 

社長がご飯をお食べになる。(Syachou ga gohan wo o tabe ni naru : The boss is going to eat a meal.) – Showing respect for the action (eating) of the boss.

 

社長がご飯をお食べになります。(Syachou ga gohan wo o tabe ni naru : The boss is going to eat.) – showing respect for the boss’s action (eating) + the speaker speaks politely to the listener.

 

Writing Politeness

 

I wrote “When we SPEAK Japanese, we have to choose whether to speak politely or not” at the beginning of this article.

 

And the reason I emphasised “SPEAK” is that

 

Politeness for speaking is different from politeness for writing.

 

Also, the usage is reversed.

I mean 

 

not polite style : when writing an official or serious document such as a thesis or a newspaper, etc, 

 

So if you find the sentences without polite form in a serious Japanese book or newspaper, it is very normal.

 

Speaking : 

これはリンゴだ。(Kore wa ringo da : This is an apple.)

これはリンゴです。(Kore wa ringo desu : This is an apple.) : Polite!

 

To write something serious or official: 

これはリンゴだ。(Kore wa ringo da : This is an apple.) : preferable!

これはリンゴです。(Kore wa ringo desu : This is an apple.) 

 

This seems to happen because the expression of politeness interferes with the neutrality of the sentence (although an official document must be neutral).

 

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