伺う

• 読み: うかがう
• ローマ字: ukagau
• 漢字の分解: 伺 (shi/ukaga) — enquire, visit (humble)
• 発音: /ɯ.ka.ɡa.ɯ/

意味

To ask; to enquire; to visit (humble). A polite, humble way to ask questions or visit someone.

A Group 1 (godan) verb with an う ending. A key humble (謙譲語, kenjougo) verb with multiple meanings: to ask, to hear, to visit. Used when speaking to someone of higher status. Replaces 聞く (to ask), 訪問する (to visit), and 行く (to go) in humble speech.

例文

1. お名前を伺ってもよろしいですか。
2. 明日そちらに伺います。
3. 先生にご意見を伺いたいのですが。

使い方ガイド

場面: business, customer service, formal conversation

トーン: respectful

起源と歴史

From Old Japanese. The kanji 伺 combines 人 (person) and 司 (administer, serve), conveying the sense of humbly serving or attending to someone of higher status.

文化的背景

時代: Classical

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal