Last week, I talked about using honorific expressions. Honorific expressions are used when you are talking to someone who is of a higher status than you or you are talking about someone who is of a higher status. You'll hear them often in customer situations and at restaurants, etc. You do not use them to refer to yourself, like "I did such and such." Rather, you use them to describe the actions of the other person.
Modest Expressions
Instead of using the normal verbs, you would use the modest ones.
Kanji: 私はブリトニー・エバンズと申します。どうぞよろしくお願いいたします
Kana: わたくしはブリトニー・エバンズともうします。どうぞよろしくおねがいいたします。
Romaji: Watakushi wa Buritonii Ebanzu to moushimasu. Douzo yoroshiku onegaiitashimasu.
English: I'm Brittney Evans. It's a pleasure to meet you.
言う becomes 申す
お願いする* becomes お願いいたします
**お願いします is the expression that would have been used here.
Kanji: 私は来年の9月にイタリアに参ります。
Kana: わたくしはらいねんのくがつにイタリアにまいります。
Romaji: Watakushi wa rainen no ku-gatsu ni Itaria ni mairimasu.
English: I'm going to Italy next September.
行く becomes 参る
Modest expressions can also be used to talk about your own family and your company and can also be heard in announcements.
Kanji: 私のお兄さんは弁護士でございます。
Kana: わたくしのおにいさんはべんごしでございます。
Romaji: Watakushi no oniisan wa bengoshi degozaimasu.
English: My older brother is a lawyer.
です becomes でござる
Kanji: 一階にお手洗いがございます。
Kana: いっかいにおてあらいがございます。
Romaji: Ikkai ni o-tearai ga gozaimasu.
English: There are restrooms on the first floor.
ある becomes ござる
Humble Expressions
Used when you do something out of respect for someone else.
お + Verb Stem + する
Kanji: 私はキム先生にCDをお借りしました。
Kana: わたしは、キムせんせいにシーディーをおかりしました。
Romaji: Watashi wa, Kimu sensei ni shiidii wo o-karishimashita.
English: I borrowed a CD from Professor Kim.
From 借りる meaning to borrow.
Using the humble verbs いただく and 差し上げる
Kanji: 先生、日本語を教えていただけませんか。
Kana: せんせい、にほんごをおしえていただけませんか。
Romaji: Sensei, nihongo wo oshite itadakemasen ka.
English: Professor, can you teach me Japanese?
～てもらう* becomes ～ていただく
**Means to get someone to do you a favor. te-form + もらう
Kanji: 私は部長にお土産を差し上げました。
Kana: わたしはぶちょうにおみやげをさしあげました。
Romaji: Watashi wa buchou ni omiyage wo sashiagemashita.
English: I gave the section leader a souvenir.
Do not use the te form with this verb, such as you would in ～てあげる (doing something for someone). Use the お + Verb Stem + する instead.
Kanji: 私は、先生に地図をお見せしました。
Kana: わたしは、せんせいにちずをおみせしました。
Romaji: Watashi wa, sensei ni chizu wo mise shimashita.
English: I showed a map for my professor.
(Banno et al., 160).
Comparison
Honorific Expression
honors the subject of the sentence
used to talk about what a person of higher status does/did
used to talk about someone you don't know well
Kanji: 先生は今日学校にいらっしゃいました。
Kana: せんせいはきょうがっこうにいらっしゃいました。
Romaji: Sensei wa kyou gakkou ni irasshaimashita.
English: The teacher came to school today.
Modest
used to talk modestly about your own actions and not the actions of another (like your boss)
can be used for your family, though
Kanji: 私は電気工学を勉強しております。
Kana: わたくしはでんきこうがくをべんきょうしております。
Romaji: Watakushi wa denkikougaku wo benkyou shite orimasu.
English: I'm studying electrical engineering.
Humble
used to humbly describe actions you do for others
in a sense it's way not to tout your horn
raises the profile of the person you are speaking about
Kanji: 私は、先生に高いお菓子をお買いします。
Kana: わたしは、せんせいにたかいおかしをおかいします。
Romaji: Watashi wa, sensei ni takai okashi wo okai shimasu.
English: I will buy expensive snacks for the teacher.
I do hope this helps. If you see any errors, please correct me.
読んでくれてありがとう。
Eri Banno, Yutaka Ohno, Yoko Sakane, Chikako Shinagawa, and Kyoko Takashiki, Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese (Tokyo: The Japan Times, 1999).
