Deep-Sea Leviathan 1: 尊敬語 (respectful language)

Introduction

Lurking down here in the Depths of Devotion, are two huge leviathans; leviathans that you must slay (or befriend, if that's more up your alley) to progress in your journey of Japanese mastery. Today, you'll meet the first one: 尊敬語そんけいご!!! Or, as I like to call him, Sunny.

Shall we begin?

Introduction to 敬語けいご

Before we kick things off for real, I need to clarify a few terms. The first is one you may have heard before, 敬語けいご, and is actually an umbrella term for three types of honorific language in Japanese:

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  丁寧語ていねいご "polite language"
  You already know this one! It essentially refers to です・ます.

• 

  尊敬語そんけいご "respectful language"
  We'll cover this one today.

• 

  謙譲語けんじょうご "humble language"
  We'll cover this one in a future lesson!