An introduction to Japanese - Syntax, Grammar & Language

144 CHAPTER 3. MORE GRAMMAR

For the irregular verb , the humble version is (necessarily) ,
since this simply is the humble counterpart. However, in addition to ,
there are several other verbs for which an established humble counterpart
exists, typically being preferable to the + + / construc-
tion:

verb meaning humble counterpart

come

go

be/exist (for animate objects)

say/be called

do

know

see

eat

drink

receive

ask

listen

give

meet

show

For verbs consisting of a noun + , the noun gets prepended with
the honorific , pronounced , and is either left as is, or replaced
with for a more humble paĴern:

verb meaning humble counterpart

pay aĴention to or

guide (someone) or

contact (someone) or

One confusing result of using these humble paĴerns and humble
counterparts is that humble speech still means exactly the same thing as
the normal verb form. The following seven sentences illustrate this idea:
they all mean exactly the same thing, but express this meaning with an