japanese-humble-form.md

Picture this: you’ve just been handed a business card at your first meeting with a Japanese client. You want to say “I will come to your office on Monday” — but you’re not sure whether to use 行きます or something more formal. If you’ve ever frozen in that moment, 謙譲語（けんじょうご）is exactly what you need.

Humble form is the part of Japanese polite speech where you lower yourself to show respect to the person you’re talking with. It’s not about self-deprecation — it’s a sophisticated social tool, and once you understand it, a huge piece of Japanese communication clicks into place.

At a Glance: Core Humble Verbs

What Is 謙譲語? The Logic Behind Humble Speech

Japanese has a three-tier system of respectful speech called 敬語（けいご）. Each tier serves a different social function:

• 尊敬語（そんけいご）— Honorific speech: Elevates the actions of the person you’re speaking to or about. Example: 先生がいらっしゃいます。(The teacher is here.)
• 謙譲語（けんじょうご）— Humble speech: Lowers your own actions to show deference. Example: 私が参ります。(I will go/come.)
• 丁寧語（ていねいご）— Polite speech: General politeness with ～ます and ～です endings. Neutral — does not specifically elevate or lower anyone.

The key insight: 謙譲語 is always about your own actions. You use humble verbs for things you do, not for things the other person does. Using a humble verb for someone else’s action is a serious mistake (more on that below).

For a full overview of the 敬語 system, see our guide: Keigo: 尊敬語, 謙譲語 & 丁寧語 Explained.

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The Core Humble Verbs in Detail

Let’s look at each key humble verb with natural example sentences you can use right away.

おる — to be (humble for いる)

Use おる when talking about where you are or where a member of your in-group is. In a business context, your company counts as your in-group, so you use humble forms for your colleagues when speaking to outsiders.

▶ 担当者（たんとうしゃ）はただいまおります。
The person in charge is currently here.

▶ 私は東京（とうきょう）におります。
I am in Tokyo.

申す (もうす) — to say (humble for 言う)

申す is used when you are telling someone your own name, opinion, or message. You’ll hear it constantly in business introductions and phone calls.

▶ 田中（たなか）と申します。
My name is Tanaka. (Lit. “I am called Tanaka.”)

▶ 先ほど（さきほど）申しました通り（とおり）、明日（あした）の会議（かいぎ）は10時（じゅうじ）からです。
As I mentioned earlier, tomorrow’s meeting starts at 10.

Yuka

はじめまして。山田（やまだ）と申します。本日（ほんじつ）はよろしくお願（ねが）いいたします。

Rei

こちらこそ、よろしくお願いいたします。鈴木（すずき）と申します。

Yuka: “Nice to meet you. My name is Yamada. I look forward to working with you today.”
Rei: “Likewise. My name is Suzuki.”

参る (まいる) — to go / to come (humble for 行く / 来る)

参る replaces both 行く and 来る when talking about your own movement. Context makes the direction clear.

▶ 明日（あした）、御社（おんしゃ）に参ります。
I will come to your company tomorrow.

▶ ただいま参ります。
I’ll be right there. (A phrase you hear constantly in restaurants and offices)

いただく — to receive / to eat / to drink

いただく is one of the most versatile and frequently used humble verbs. It covers three meanings that English handles with completely different words: receiving, eating, and drinking.

▶ お土産（みやげ）をいただきました。
I received a souvenir (from you/them).

▶ では、いただきます。
Well then, I’ll eat / I’ll have some. (The phrase said before eating in Japan)

▶ コーヒーをいただけますか？
Could I have a coffee? (Politely requesting something)

いただく also appears in the grammar pattern 〜ていただく (to humbly have someone do something for you), which you’ll see throughout business Japanese.

▶ 資料（しりょう）を確認（かくにん）していただけますか？
Could I ask you to review the documents?

いたす — to do (humble for する)

いたす is the humble counterpart of する. It shows up in set phrases and is often combined with nouns to create humble compound verbs.

▶ ご連絡（れんらく）いたします。
I will contact you.

▶ ご確認（かくにん）いたしました。
I have confirmed it.

差し上げる (さしあげる) — to give (humble for あげる)

差し上げる is the humble way of saying you give something to someone of higher status. Note: it sounds quite formal, and some speakers feel it can come across as overly stiff in casual interactions. In modern usage, いただく-based phrasing is often preferred.

▶ これをお客様（きゃくさま）に差し上げます。
I will give this to the customer.

存じます / 存じております (ぞんじます / ぞんじております) — to think / to know

存じます is the humble form of 思う (to think) and also 知っている (to know). The longer form 存じております is even more formal and is standard in business emails.

▶ ご存知（ごぞんじ）かもしれませんが…
You may already know this, but… (ご存知 is the honorific “to know” — different word)

▶ 詳細（しょうさい）については存じ上げません（ぞんじあげません）。
I am not aware of the details.

▶ ご多忙（たぼう）のこととは存じますが、ご確認をお願いできますでしょうか。
I know you must be very busy, but could I ask you to take a look?

The お/ご〜する Pattern

Beyond the irregular humble verbs, Japanese has a productive pattern for creating humble expressions from regular verbs:

お + [verb stem (ます-stem)] + する — used with verbs of Japanese origin
ご + [noun (typically Chinese-origin compound)] + する — used with Sino-Japanese (漢語) words

Notice how ご案内いたします stacks the honorific prefix ご with the humble verb いたす. This “double humble” construction is very common in formal business Japanese and sounds more polished than ご案内します alone.

Yuka

こちらへどうぞ。会議室（かいぎしつ）へご案内いたします。

Rei

ありがとうございます。お願いいたします。

Yuka: “Right this way. I will guide you to the conference room.”
Rei: “Thank you. Please lead the way.”

いただく vs くださる — Who Does the Action?

This is one of the trickiest distinctions in 謙譲語. Both いただく and くださる involve receiving something, but they describe the situation from different angles.

In practice, both sentences can be translated as “You explained it to me,” but the nuance differs. いただく frames you as humbly receiving the action; くださる frames the other person as graciously performing it. Native speakers often choose based on what they want to emphasize.

謙譲語 in Business Contexts

Let’s see how these forms come together in real business situations.

Phone Calls (電話対応)

Phone Japanese is one of the most formula-heavy registers. Humble forms are everywhere.

▶ はい、ABC商事（しょうじ）でございます。
Yes, this is ABC Trading Company.

▶ 少々（しょうしょう）お待ちいただけますでしょうか。
Could I ask you to wait just a moment?

▶ 後ほど（のちほど）折り返し（おりかえし）ご連絡いたします。
I will call you back shortly.

For more phone vocabulary and expressions, see our dedicated article on Japanese phone expressions.

Emails (メール)

Business emails in Japanese follow strict conventions. The humble forms appear especially in opening and closing lines.

▶ お世話（せわ）になっております。山田と申します。
Thank you for your continued support. My name is Yamada. (Standard email opener)

▶ ご確認のほど、よろしくお願いいたします。
I would greatly appreciate your review.

▶ 何かご不明な点がございましたら、お気軽にお申し付けください。
If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know.

Meetings (会議での表現)

▶ 本日（ほんじつ）は、弊社（へいしゃ）の新（あたら）しいサービスについてご説明いたします。
Today, I will explain our company’s new service.

▶ ご質問がございましたら、後ほどお受けいたします。
I will take questions afterwards.

Yuka

お時間（じかん）をいただきまして、ありがとうございます。それでは、資料（しりょう）に沿ってご説明いたします。

Rei

はい、よろしくお願いいたします。

Yuka: “Thank you for giving us your time. I will now explain following the document.”
Rei: “Yes, please go ahead.”

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Using 謙譲語 for Other People’s Actions

This is the most common and most serious error. Humble forms must only describe your own actions or those of your in-group. Using them for the listener’s actions is backwards and sounds deeply wrong to native ears.

𐁠 先生が参ります。
(Wrong: “The teacher comes.” — This lowers the teacher’s action, which is insulting.)

✅ 先生がいらっしゃいます。
(Correct: “The teacher is here.” — いらっしゃる is the honorific for います/来ます/行きます.)

Mistake 2: Confusing 申す with おっしゃる

申す is humble — use it for things you say. おっしゃる is honorific — use it for things the other person says.

𐁠 先生が申しました。
(Wrong: “The teacher said.” — This humbles the teacher’s speech.)

✅ 先生がおっしゃいました。
(Correct: “The teacher said.”)

Mistake 3: Mixing Up In-Group and Out-Group

In Japanese business culture, your company (自社・じしゃ or 弊社・へいしゃ) is your in-group. Even your boss becomes part of your in-group when you’re speaking to someone outside the company. This means you use humble forms for your boss’s actions when talking to clients.

𐁠 (Talking to a client) 部長（ぶちょう）がいらっしゃいます。
(Wrong: This elevates your own boss in front of an outsider.)

✅ (Talking to a client) 部長がおります。
(Correct: Use humble form for your own company’s people when speaking externally.)

Mistake 4: Overusing いただく

いただく is correct and natural in many contexts, but chaining it too many times in a single sentence creates “いただく stacking” (いただく fatigue) that native speakers notice. Vary your expressions using the patterns in this article.

Decision Flowchart: 謙譲語 vs 尊敬語

Not sure which form to use? Work through this decision tree:

You need a polite verb — what are you describing?
│
├─ YOUR OWN action (or your company's action)
│   └─ Use 謙譲語 (humble form)
│       Examples: 参ります, 申します, いたします, おります
│
└─ THE LISTENER'S action (or a third party you respect)
    └─ Use 尊敬語 (honorific form)
        Examples: いらっしゃいます, おっしゃいます, なさいます

---

Who is performing the action?

  ME/WE                 ──>  謙譲語 ✓
  YOU/THEY (respected)  ──>  尊敬語 ✓
  Anyone (neutral)      ──>  丁寧語 (～ます/～です) ✓

Quick Quiz

Test your understanding with these four questions. Choose the correct humble form for each situation.

Question 1

You are introducing yourself to a new client. How do you say “My name is Tanaka”?

a) 田中と言います。
b) 田中と申します。
c) 田中とおっしゃいます。

✅ Answer: b) 田中と申します。
申します is the humble form of 言う. You always use it for your own name in formal introductions. おっしゃいます is honorific (for the other person’s speech), and と言います is plain polite.

Question 2

You want to tell a client: “I will come to your office on Friday.” Choose the correct verb for “to come.”

a) 来ます（きます）
b) いらっしゃいます
c) 参ります（まいります）

✅ Answer: c) 参ります。
参る is the humble form of 行く/来る, used for your own movement. いらっしゃいます is the honorific form (the client’s movement, not yours). 来ます is plain polite.

Question 3

A colleague asks if your manager (部長) is in the office. You are talking to someone from another company. Which is correct?

a) 部長はいらっしゃいます。
b) 部長はおります。
c) 部長はいます。

✅ Answer: b) 部長はおります。
When speaking to someone outside your company, your own boss belongs to your in-group. Use the humble form おる for in-group members when speaking externally. いらっしゃいます would incorrectly elevate your own company’s person to an outsider.

Question 4

Which sentence correctly uses 謙譲語?

a) 先生がいただきました。
b) 私がいただきました。
c) お客様がいただきました。

✅ Answer: b) 私がいただきました。
いただく is humble — it lowers the speaker’s action. Using it for the teacher (a) or the customer (c) would be lowering their actions, which is disrespectful. Humble forms go with your own actions only.

Summary: 謙譲語 at a Glance

Mastering 謙譲語 takes time and exposure, but even getting the five or six most common forms right will make a huge impression in Japanese workplaces and business settings. Start with 申します, 参ります, いただきます, and いたします — you’ll use these every day.

Which humble form do you find most confusing? drop your question in the comments below — we read every one and love helping learners work through the tricky bits of Japanese keigo!

Keep Learning

• Keigo: 尊敬語, 謙譲語 & 丁寧語 Explained — the full three-tier system
• Japanese Phone Expressions — humble and honorific phrases for business calls
• Japanese Work Culture — understanding the social context behind keigo

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About the Author

Daisuke is the creator of JP YoKoSo — a Japanese learning site for English speakers. Every article is written to explain Japanese clearly, with real examples, grammar notes, and practical tips for learners at every level.

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