Keigo has three floors. 尊敬語 raised the other person, 謙譲語 lowered you, and 丁寧語 is the ground level: the です・ます politeness you already speak, plus the polished ございます and the softening お and ご that hang on nouns. This lesson shows what teineigo really does, and how to choose your register.
です・ます: what politeness actually does
丁寧語 is the です・ます layer you already speak. It neither raises the other person nor lowers you; it simply marks the listener as someone worth politeness. Every keigo sentence still wears it on the outside.
What to notice: Even full keigo ends in です・ます: 社長がいらっしゃいます. Keigo changes the inside of the sentence; teineigo stays the shell.
ございます: polishing です and あります
ございます is the polished form of です and あります: it keeps the meaning and adds shine. Fixed greetings run on it — おはようございます, ありがとうございます — and formal service speech lifts whole sentences onto it: お手洗いは二階にございます.
What to notice: When an い-adjective sits before ございます, the い sound slides to its う sound: おはやく becomes おはよう (and ありがたく becomes ありがとう). That is the classical shine inside おはようございます.
お and ご on nouns: beauty words
These お and ご mark 美化語, beauty words: they neither raise nor humble anyone — they soften the noun itself. お茶, ご飯, お腹 are simply the standard way these words live in polite speech.
What to notice: Beauty words belong to everyone: お茶 is used about your tea, my tea, any tea. That is how they differ from the respect prefixes of the next section, which attach only to things connected with the listener.
Your things stay plain, theirs rise
Attach お or ご to things connected with the listener: お名前, ご住所, お子さん, 奥様. Your own side stays plain — 私の住所, 家内 — because polish flows outward, exactly like the respect in Lesson 37.
What to notice: お goes with native Japanese words, ご with Chinese loans: お名前, ご住所. When in doubt, drop the prefix — the plain noun is never wrong.
Choosing your register: plain to ていねいご
Register answers one question: how close are we? Plain forms for family and friends, です・ます for strangers and daily business, keigo for height and distance. Pick the level once, then stay consistent in it.
What to notice: Teineigo is the safe starting point with anyone new. Conversations start at です・ます and slide toward plain speech as closeness grows — or toward keigo as the distance or standing of the other person grows.
Keigo and teineigo together
A keigo sentence is a sandwich: respectful or humble core, teineigo shell. お待ちください wraps a humble core politely, and どうぞよろしくお願いいたします stacks several layers of polish into one greeting.
What to notice: More layers do not mean more polite. One clear layer per sentence sounds refined; stacking every honorific at once sounds like a costume drama. Polish is a dial, not a switch.
丁寧語 (です・ございます) Cheat Sheet
| Pattern | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| です・ます | polite baseline | 明日は雨です あしたはあめです It will rain tomorrow |
| 〜でございます | polished です | こちらがコーヒーでございます こちらがコーヒーでございます Here is your coffee |
| 〜にございます | polished あります | 二階にございます にかいにございます It is on the second floor |
| お・ご + noun | polish or respect a noun | お名前・ご住所 おなまえ・ごじゅうしょ name and address |
| おはようございます | fixed polite greetings | ありがとうございます ありがとうございます Thank you very much |
Tips & Common Mistakes
Common Mistake: Believing keigo replaces teineigo. Keigo sits inside teineigo, never instead of it: 社長がいらっしゃいます still ends in ます. Using keigo verbs but dropping です・ます sounds like a period drama.
Tip: ございます polishes です and あります. In everyday shops it is optional; in formal announcements, invitations, and letters it is the norm.
Tip: お goes with native Japanese words and ご with Chinese loans: お茶, ご飯. When unsure, drop the prefix — plain nouns are never wrong.
Tip: Register moves along one line: plain for family and friends, です・ます for strangers and daily business, keigo for height and distance. Choose once and stay consistent.
Lesson Summary
丁寧語
明日は雨です。
Politeness as the baseline.
ございます
お手洗いは二階にございます。
The restrooms are on the second floor.
お・ご + noun
お名前とご住所
Name and address.
でございます
田中でございます。
This is Tanaka.