敬語

Japanese JLPT N1 Vocabulary Japanese ★★★ 3/5 formal けいごkeigo
読み けいご
ローマ字 keigo
漢字の分解 敬 (kei) — respect, reverence; 語 (go) — language, words
発音 /keː.ɡo/

意味

Honorific language; polite language. The system of speech levels in Japanese that expresses social relationships through grammar and vocabulary.

A noun encompassing the three-tiered Japanese speech system: 尊敬語 (sonkeigo, respectful speech elevating the listener), 謙譲語 (kenjoogo, humble speech lowering oneself), and 丁寧語 (teineigo, polite neutral speech). Mastery of 敬語 is essential in professional and formal settings, and its improper use can cause serious social friction.

例文

  1. 社会人になったら、敬語を正しく使えることが職場では求められる。
  2. 日本語学習者にとって、敬語の体系を完全に習得するのは長年の課題だ。
  3. 電話応対の研修では、まず丁寧な敬語の使い方から学んだ。

使い方ガイド

場面: linguistics, workplace, education, social etiquette

トーン: neutral

起源と歴史

Compound of 敬 (kei, respect/reverence) and 語 (go, language/words). The concept of stratified speech has existed since ancient Japanese court culture, but 敬語 as a formal grammatical category was systematised in the modern era.

文化的背景

時代: Classical–Modern

世代: Adults

社会的背景: Universal

関連フレーズ

仮名 Kana; the Japanese phonetic syllabary comprising hiragana and katakana, developed from simplified Chinese characters. 侘び寂び Wabi-sabi; a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in imperfection, incompleteness, and transience. An appreciation for the humble, weathered, and irregular. 俳句 Haiku; a traditional Japanese poem of 17 syllables in three lines (5-7-5), typically evoking nature, a season, and a single vivid moment. 入門 Introduction; a primer or entry into a field of study. Also: the formal act of becoming a disciple under a master in a traditional art. 和歌 Waka; traditional Japanese poetry, particularly the tanka form with a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable structure. The classical poetic tradition of Japan as distinguished from Chinese verse. 和紙 Washi; traditional handmade Japanese paper crafted from plant fibres such as kozo (mulberry). A material central to Japanese literary, artistic, and cultural heritage. 四字熟語 A four-character idiom; a compound of four kanji forming a fixed idiomatic expression, often of Chinese origin. Known in English as yojijukugo. 常用漢字 Jōyō kanji; the official list of commonly used Chinese characters in contemporary Japanese.
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