Sonkeigo vs Kenjougo: Use Japanese Teineigo, Sonkeigo and Kenjougo Correctly

Think to yourself: why do knights (Or samurai if that floats your boat better) kneel before their king? When you kneel, you're physically lowering yourself to elevate the person above you. That's exactly what happens in Japanese keigo (), the system of respectful language. Most Japanese learners get completely lost here because they try to memorize verb tables without understanding the underlying logic. I'm going to break down the actual differences so you can start using these forms correctly.

What is keigo and why should you care

Keigo is the umbrella term for all honorific language in Japanese. Think of it as the entire politeness system that Japanese speakers navigate daily. You'll encounter keigo everywhere: at work, in stores, when meeting someone's parents, basically any situation where social hierarchy matters.

The system splits into three main categories:

Is "keigo" difficult to master? Yeah, honestly it is. Native speakers spend years getting comfortable with it, and even they mess up sometimes. Do native speakers always use Keigo perfectly? Absolutely not. You'll hear mistakes in casual business settings all the time, especially from younger employees still learning the ropes.

Sonkeigo (尊敬語): Elevating others

What is Sonkeigo used for? You use sonkeigo when describing someone else's actions, particularly someone you want to show respect toward. The key idea is that you're making their actions sound more dignified and elevated.

Let's look at how verbs transform. Take the verb "to eat" which is taberu () in plain form:

When your client eats lunch, you'd say "meshiagatte imasu" (), showing respect for their action. You're literally using a different verb that elevates what they're doing.

Common sonkeigo verb patterns include:

For "to read" which is yomu :

Some verbs have special sonkeigo forms you just need to memorize:

Here's a practical example. Your boss says she'll come to the meeting tomorrow. You wouldn't say "Buchou wa kimasu" (). You'd use sonkeigo: "Buchou wa irasshaimasu" (). Same meaning, but you're elevating her action to show respect.

Kenjougo (謙譲語): Humbling yourself

Kenjougo works in the opposite direction. Instead of elevating others, you lower your own position. This humble form is used to show respect by making yourself smaller in comparison.

Let's use the same eating example:

Does itadakimasu sounded familar? That's because "itadakimasu" (いただきます), the phrase everyone says before eating, comes from this humble verb. You're literally saying "I humbly receive this food."

The key with kenjougo is that you only use it for your own actions, especially when those actions involve or affect someone of higher status. You're not describing what they do, you're describing what you do for them or in relation to them.

Special kenjougo verbs you need to know:

In a business setting, when you visit a client's office, you'd say "Ashita ukagaimasu" () meaning "I will humbly visit tomorrow." You're lowering your action of visiting to show respect to the client.

Here's where learners get confused: you never use kenjougo to describe someone else's actions. If you said your boss "humbly went" somewhere using mairu (), you'd be insulting them by lowering their status. That's a huge mistake.

Teineigo: The foundation of Japanese honorific

Teineigo () is the polite form that serves as the foundation for all formal Japanese. This is your standard masu (ます) and desu (です) endings that add basic politeness to any sentence.

You can actually combine teineigo with sonkeigo and kenjougo. In fact, you usually do in formal situations. When you say "irasshaimasu" (いらっしゃいます), you're using sonkeigo verb irassharu with the teineigo masu ending.

Teineigo works differently from the other two because it doesn't change based on who's doing the action. You use the polite form regardless of whether you're talking about yourself, your boss, or a stranger. It just makes everything sound more polite and less casual.

The noun marker desu (です) also falls under teineigo:

Pretty much any formal conversation uses teineigo as the baseline, then adds sonkeigo or kenjougo on top when needed.

When to use each form for Japanese politeness

The Japanese language operates on clear social hierarchies, and keigo reflects those relationships. Understanding when to use sonkeigo versus kenjougo comes down to analyzing the relationship between you, the other person, and the action being described.

Use sonkeigo when:

Use kenjougo when:

The uchi/soto (Inside/Outside) concept matters here. In Japanese culture, your in-group changes based on context. At a company, your boss is higher than you, so you'd use sonkeigo for their actions internally. But when talking to a client from another company, your boss becomes part of your uchi (Inside group), so you'd use kenjougo or neutral forms for their actions to humble your entire company in relation to the client.

This gets really practical in business Japanese. When a client calls asking for your manager, you'd say "Tanaka wa tadaima seki wo hazushite orimasu" (). You used the kenjougo verb "oru" (おる) instead of "iru" (いる) for "to be" because you're humbling your own company member to show respect to the outside caller.

Common mistakes learners make

Practical ways to learn Japanese keigo

The first step is rote memorization with honorific language, but the second...

Learning keigo takes time and lots of practice. Start with the core verb forms I mentioned earlier, practice them in context, and gradually expand your repertoire. Yes, it's rote memorization at the start, but try to go further. Consuming media, and whenever you encounter one that you aren't sure about the meaning, look it up. After a couple of months, you don't ever need to look them up again.

Today's efforts will pay off tomorrow.