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Concept
Honorific speech in Japanese
Summary
The Japanese language has a system of honorific speech, referred to as keigo, parts of speech that show respect. Their use is mandatory in many social situations. Honorifics in Japanese may be used to emphasize social distance or disparity in rank, or to emphasize social intimacy or similarity in rank. Japanese honorific titles, often simply called honorifics, consist of suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation.
The system is very extensive, having its own special vocabulary and grammatical forms to express various levels of respectful, humble, and polite speech. It closely resembles other honorifics systems found in the East Asian cultural sphere, such as honorifics in Korean.
Japanese uses honorific constructions to show or emphasize social rank, social intimacy or similarity in rank. The choice of pronoun used, for example, will express the social relationship between the person speaking and the person being referred to, and Japanese often avoids pronouns entirely in favor of more explicit titles or kinship terms.
Honorific speech is often longer, and sometimes much longer, than more direct speech. Some extreme, but not uncommon, examples include the following:
When asking a question: the first is casually between friends, the second is a junior person asking a superior in a formal meeting:
いていい?
Kiite ii?
Ok to ask (a question)?
かせていただけるとしいのですが。
Kikasete-itadakeru to ureshii no desu ga.
I would, however, be delighted if I may be permitted to ask (a question).
When asking for cooperation: the first is usual and polite, the latter is very formal, but often found in writing, especially in posters or flyers.
ごさい。
Go-kyōryoku-kudasai.
Your cooperation, please.
ごのおいしげます。
Go-kyōryoku no hodo o-negai mōshiagemasu.
We respectfully request the favor of a measure of your cooperation.
This latter example includes two honorific prefixes, nominalization of a verb (for formality), a respectful form, and two humble forms.
Official source
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