Respectful vs humble verbs
Who is doing the action decides the verb. Get that one axis right and most keigo mistakes disappear on their own.
部長がおっしゃる／私が申し上げる
The manager says (respectful) / I say (humble)
All modules
敬語とビジネスマナーKeigo & Workplace Etiquette
Get keigo right when it counts
Sort out 尊敬語 and 謙譲語, handle client calls and cushion phrases, and practise the etiquette Japanese offices expect but rarely explain out loud.
Get early accessWhat you’ll practise
練習する場面Inside vs outside the company
On a client call your own boss loses their title and their honorifics. This is the mistake that marks you out fastest.
田中はただいま席を外しております。
Tanaka is away from the desk at the moment. (to an outside caller—no 部長, no いらっしゃる)
Cushion phrases
The short set-up phrases that make a request or a refusal land softly. Learn six and you’ll use them daily.
恐れ入りますが／差し支えなければ／あいにくですが
Sorry to trouble you… / If it’s not inconvenient… / Unfortunately…
Answer the phone
The opening, taking a message, and transferring a call—fixed forms that are far easier once you’ve said them aloud a few times.
お世話になっております。株式会社〇〇の田中でございます。
Thank you for your continued support. This is Tanaka from ___ Co., Ltd.
Business email shape
Openings, closings, and how to chase something politely. Japanese business email is a template you fill, not prose you compose.
お世話になっております。／ご確認のほど、よろしくお願いいたします。
Opening: “Thank you for your continued support.” Closing: “I’d appreciate it if you could take a look.”
Business cards and seating
Receive with both hands, keep the card on the table for the meeting, and know which chair is the 上座 before you sit down.
頂戴いたします。
“Thank you—I’ll receive it.” (as you take someone’s card)
How the voice practice works
練習の流れ- 01
Pick who you’re talking to
A client, your own 部長, or a junior colleague. Keigo isn’t one register—it’s a choice you make about the relationship.
- 02
Say the line out loud
Answer the call, take the message, make the request. Speaking is where keigo breaks down, so that’s where you practise it.
- 03
See exactly which word was off
Feedback pinpoints the verb, the honorific, or the missing cushion phrase—and shows what a colleague would have said instead.
A scenario, start to finish
サンプル取引先からの電話
SampleA client calls asking for your manager
You pick up. Tanaka, your 部長, is out of the office.
They say
「お世話になっております。田中部長はいらっしゃいますか。」
“Hello, thank you for your support. Is Tanaka-buchou available?”
You sayRecorded · 0:07
「田中部長は今、席を外していらっしゃいます。」
“Buchou Tanaka is honourably away from the desk right now.”
Feedback
Good: You answered the actual question and stayed in polite form throughout.
Try: To an outside caller your own colleague takes no title and no honorific: 「田中はただいま席を外しております」.
Watch: いらっしゃる elevates your own side. 「おります」 is the humble form you want here.
敬語とビジネスマナー
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