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When you do something out of respect for somebody,
you can sometimes describe
your action using a verb in the humble pattern "お + verb stem + する."
Not
all verbs are used this way, so you may want to use only the ones you have actually
heard used.
You can speak of "humbly" meeting, lending to, or borrowing
from, someone, for example |
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| 私はきのう先生にお会いしました。 |
I (humbly) met my professor yesterday. |
| watashi-wa, kinoo sensei-ni o-ai shimashita. |
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| 私は先生に本をお貸しするつもりです。 |
I intend to (humbly) lend my professor a book. |
| watashi-wa, sensei-ni, hon-o o-kashi-suru tsumori desu. |
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| 私は先生に辞書をお借りしました。 |
I borrowed a dictionary from my professor (and feel very
obliged). |
| watashi-wa, sensei-ni, jisho-o o-kari shimashita. |
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する compound verbs do not follow this pattern.
Instead they simply have the
prefix ご or お, such as |
| ご紹介する |
ごしょうかいする、(to introduce) |
| ご案内する |
ごあんないする、(to guide, to usher) |
| ご説明する |
ごせつめいする、(to explain) |
| お電話する |
and おでんわする. (to phone, to call) |
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もらう and あげる have special replacement verbs |
| もらう -> いただく |
to receive |
| morau - itadaku |
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| 私は先生にこの本をいただきました。 |
I (humbly) received this boob from my
professor. |
|
watashi-wa sensei-ni kono hon-o itadakimashita. |
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| 私は先生に漢字を教えていただきました。 |
I (humbly) had my professor teach me kanji. |
| watashi-wa sensei-ni kanji-o oshiete itadakimashita. |
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あげる -> さしあげる
差し上げる |
to give, to offer (* 1) |
| ageru - sashiageru |
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| 私は先生にプレゼントをさしあげます。 |
I will (humbly) give my teacher a gift. |
| watashi-wa sensei-ni purezento-o sashiagemasu. |
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The subjects in the above examples are all
"I," and "I humbly performs these actions in deference to
the person that is underlined. (* 2)
The difference between this pattern and the extra-modest
expressions that we studied earlier lies here:
the extra-modest expressions show respect to the listeners
you are talking to,
while the humble pattern shows respect to someone that
appears in the event you are describing.
This of course does not preclude the possibility of you
humbly performing an action for the person you are talking
to. (* 3) |
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For example, |
| （私はあなたを）駅までお送りします。 |
I will (humbly) walk you to the station. |
|
watashi-wa anata-o eki-made o-okuri shimasu. |
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* 1 We do not endorse the use of sashiageru with the
te-form of a verb in the
sense of "humbly doing something for somebody/'
because many people object to this type of sentence.
They argue that the idea that you are doing a service for
somebody is ultimately an insolent belief
and that trying to talk humbly about it is a rather
unconvincing facade.
Such speakers prefer instead to use the "o
+ stem +
suru" pattern. |
| 私は先生に地図を見せてさしあげました。 |
Instead of: |
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watashi-wa sensei-ni chizu-o misete
sashiagemasu. |
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| 私は先生に地図をお見せしました。 |
Use:
I (humbly) showed a map for my professor. |
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watashi-wa sensei-ni chizu-o mise-shimashita. |
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* 2 You can also talk about one of "your
people", such as a member of your family or another worker
at the company you work for,
humbly performing an action in deference to somebody outside
the group. |
| 私の父はお客さんにお茶をおいれしました。 |
My father (humbly) served the guest tea. |
| watashi-no chichi-wa, o-kyaku-san-ni, o-cha-o o-ireshimashita. |
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| 私の母は大統領に手紙をいただきました。 |
My mother (humbly) received a letter from
the President |
| watashi-no haha-wa, daitooryoo-ni tegami-o itadakimashita.
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*3 Sometimes, we can use a humble
expression to describe a situation where we do something for
the person we are talking to,
meaning "for you," "instead of you," and "saving you
trouble." |
| テレビをおつけしましょう。 |
Let me (humbly) turn on the TV (for you). |
| terebi-o o-tsuke-shimashoo. |
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Respect Language Review |
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1. Honorific expressions: Exalt the subject of the sentence |
先生がいらっしゃいました。
先生がお帰りになりました。 |
My professor has {graciously} arrived.
My professor has {graciously} left. |
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sensei-ga (UP), irasshaimashita.
sensei-ga, o-kaeri-ni narimashita. |
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2. Extra Modest Expressions: Talk modestly of what you do. |
| 私はメアリー・ハートと申します。
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My name is Mary Hart. (person listening to you
- UP) |
| watashi-wa (DOWN) - mearii haato, to mooshimasu. |
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3. Humble Expressions: Demote the subject and raise the profile of another
person. |
| 私は先生に本をお返ししました。 |
I {humbly} returned the book to my professor. |
| watashi-wa (DOWN), sensei-ni (UP), hon-o
o-kaeshi-shimashita. |
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