Keigo, from basic to advanced

Japanese has three verb systems that sit on top of the plain form. They are not the same as each other — each one gives you different information.

Textbooks often skip this point. In Japanese, the subject is often left out. Keigo is one of the main ways the reader figures out who did the action.

2.1 Sonkeigo → subject is not the speaker

Sonkeigo raises the subject. You do not raise yourself. So:

2.2 Kenjōgo → subject is the speaker (or their side)

Kenjōgo lowers the subject. You do not lower other people. So:

2.3 Teineigo → no information

です／ます tells you nothing about the subject. 見みましたか could mean the listener, the speaker, or a third person. This is exactly why keigo matters for reading — remove the Sonkeigo/Kenjōgo and you lose the "who."

Third parties add one more difficulty (which "side" is the third person on?). That is explained in 9 · Third people and uchi/soto.

Common verbs have their own special forms. They do not follow the お＋stem pattern. Learn them as sets of three — this is probably the most useful memorisation in keigo.

Notes

• いらっしゃる ／ おっしゃる ／ なさる ／ くださる ／ ござる are the "five special respectful verbs." They take ～います (not ～ります) in the polite form: いらっしゃいます, おっしゃいます, なさいます, くださいます, ございます.
• いらっしゃる covers three verbs — いる ／ 行いく ／ 来くる. Which one it is is decided by context. A destination (御社おんしゃに) → 行いく. An origin or arrival cue (こちらに, もう) → 来くる. A state or location (今いま、ロビーに) → いる. The same rule applies to おいでになる.
• 召めし上あがる vs いただく — same idea (eat / drink), but the choice depends on who is doing it. Boss eats → 召めし上あがる. You eat (or receive) → いただく.
• The 拝はい prefix (bow, revere) marks a family of humble verbs: 拝見はいけんする (see), 拝読はいどくする (read), 拝借はいしゃくする (borrow), 拝聴はいちょうする (listen), 拝受はいじゅする (receive). All lower the speaker. Never use them about others.
• Multiple Sonkeigo for one verb — pick the register. Some verbs offer more than one respectful form. For arriving, お見みえになる ／ お越こしになる are higher-register than 来こられる. Use the fuller form for named guests and clients; use ～れる for softer honorific in news and email (see A4).
• Showing to a customer: use お目めにかける ／ ご覧らんに入いれる, not 見みせてあげます — ～てあげる to a customer sounds presumptuous (see §6).
• Verbs with no Kenjōgo (着きる, 寝ねる, 死しぬ) — do not invent one. These actions are not directed at anyone, so there is nothing to humble: plain polite (寝ねます) is already correct. お＋stem＋する (see §4) only works when the action involves the person you respect.
• Some Kenjōgo cells show two forms (伺うかがう ／ 参まいる, 申もうし上あげる ／ 申もうす). They are not exactly the same — see A2 · Two kinds of Kenjōgo. For now, either is fine.

When a verb has no special form, you build keigo with a pattern.

4.1 Sonkeigo patterns

4.2 Kenjōgo patterns

4.3 だ／ある and their polite forms

Keigo is not only about verbs. Some everyday words are replaced by more formal ones. Seeing them is a clear sign that you are reading formal Japanese.

Notes on the tricky rows

• 御社おんしゃ vs 貴社きしゃ — same meaning ("your company"), split by medium. 御社おんしゃ in speech, 貴社きしゃ in writing. The spoken/written split exists because 貴社きしゃ is a homophone with 記者きしゃ, 汽車きしゃ, 帰社きしゃ — ambiguous by ear, clear on the page.
• 弊社へいしゃ vs 当社とうしゃ — both refer to your own company, but 弊社へいしゃ actively humbles (弊へい = worn, shabby) — use it with clients and outside parties. 当社とうしゃ is neutral-formal — right for press releases or internal documents where no one specific is being deferred to.
• "Theirs" family words are strictly one-way. ご子息しそく, お嬢様じょうさま, 奥様おくさま, ご主人しゅじん refer only to the listener's or a third party's family — never your own. ✗ うちのご子息しそく → ○ うちの息子むすこ. Using them for your own family raises your own side (uchi/soto error — see 9).
• すぐ → 早速さっそく ／ 至急しきゅう — not synonyms. 早速さっそく is prompt / proactive ("I got right on it"), positive tone. 至急しきゅう is urgent — needed now, used in subject lines: 【至急しきゅう】ご確認かくにんください.
• ちょっと → 少々しょうしょう in formal speech and writing. 少々しょうしょうお待まちください, 少々しょうしょうお時間じかんをいただけますか are standard.

These verbs are everywhere in polite Japanese, so it is worth learning them early. In Japanese, the direction of a favour (who did something for whom) is built into the verb — not the pronoun. Keigo is then added on top to show respect.

6.1 The three base verbs

• くれる ／ くださる → the giver is the other person, the receiver is me / us. You cannot use くれる for "I give."
• あげる ／ 差さし上あげる → the giver is me / us (or a third person giving to another third person). You cannot use あげる for "they gave to me."
• もらう ／ いただく → the receiver is me / us. The giver is the other person.

Warning about 差さし上あげる: adding ～て to it — 「〜て差さし上あげます」— can sound like you are doing the other person a favour they did not ask for. Native speakers avoid it in speech. Use ～いたします or お～する instead.

6.2 Combined with ～て form (actions done as favours)

This is where 授受じゅじゅ表現ひょうげん becomes essential. Attach these verbs to the ～て form of another verb, and the sentence describes an action done as a favour. The direction is still fixed by the verb.

6.3 Subject logic: ～てくださる vs ～ていただく

Both often translate to English the same way ("the teacher taught me"), but they are structured differently. This matters when the subject is dropped.

Both are polite. ～ていただく is often felt as more polite because it puts the humble side (me) in the subject position, which feels less commanding.

6.4 Very common set patterns

• お＋stem＋いただく — "I humbly receive your ~ing." Formal version of ～ていただく. お待まちいただく, お読よみいただく, ご確認かくにんいただく.
• ～てくださって、ありがとうございます — "thank you for kindly ~ing." Standard thank-you.
• お越こしいただく ／ おいでいただく — "you kindly come." Used to thank customers or guests. 「本日ほんじつはお越こしいただき、ありがとうございます」.
• ご協力きょうりょくいただく — "we receive your cooperation." Standard in announcements.

6.5 Three-party direction (uchi/soto first)

When a third party is involved (your boss gave X to your client, your colleague did Y for the customer), apply uchi/soto before picking the verb:

• Giver = uchi, receiver = soto → ～てさしあげる ／ お～する (in speech, prefer お～する to avoid the patronising ring — see §6.1).
• Giver = soto (respected), receiver = uchi → ～てくださる ／ ～ていただく. This is the same rule as with 私わたし — your in-group members are treated as "me" for direction purposes.

See 9 · Third people and uchi/soto for how uchi/soto is decided.

Making a request is one of the most common uses of keigo, and Japanese has many levels. Learn to recognise where a form sits on the ladder — you will see all of these in daily life, from convenience store signs to business email.

Three principles that set the level

1. Negative questions are more polite than positive ones. They leave room to say no. お待まちいただけませんか is more polite than お待まちいただけますか.
2. Longer forms are more polite than shorter ones. More words = more distance = more respect.
3. Kenjōgo (based on いただく) is often felt as more polite than Sonkeigo (based on ください). ください is a command from you to them; いただく puts you in the humble receiving position.

7.1 The ladder — "please wait" as an example

1. Casual

   待まって

   Between friends
2. Polite

   待まってください

   Neutral polite — textbook Japanese
3. Formal (Sonkeigo)

   お待まちください

   Signs, service, announcements (＋ませ in luxury service)
4. Business standard (Sonkeigo + Kenjōgo)

   お待まちいただけますか

   Spoken and written business default
5. Softer (negative question)

   お待まちいただけませんか

   Leaves room for no
6. Soft email request

   お待まちいただければ幸さいわいです

   "I would be grateful if." Very common in email
7. Most formal (email)

   お待まちいただけますようお願ねがい申もうし上あげます

   Formal email closing

7.2 Two patterns to recognise

Almost every polite request in Japanese is built from one of two patterns:

• お＋stem＋ください — Sonkeigo. "Please kindly do." You are asking them (respected) to do the action. Common in signs and one-way instructions.
• お＋stem＋いただく (+ …ますか / …ませんか / …ますよう / と幸さいわいです) — Kenjōgo. "I humbly receive your ~ing." You are the receiver. Common in email and personal requests.

Learn these two skeletons and you can decode almost any polite request.

7.3 Which rung do you start on?

The ladder shows what exists. Real requests pick one rung by matching relationship to medium. A rough starting map:

A common learner error is over-shooting: using …お願ねがい申もうし上あげます in an internal team email makes it sound like the recipient is an external client. Match the rung to the relationship.

7.4 Softening endings

You can make almost any request softer by adding an ending. These stack on top:

• ～ませんか — negative question. Softer.
• ～と幸さいわいです — "would be grateful if." Adds emotion / humility.
• ～ますようお願ねがい申もうし上あげます — the most formal email ending. Attaches to お～いただけます ／ ご～いただけます.
• 恐おそれ入いりますが～ — put at the front. "I am sorry to trouble you, but ~."
• お手数てすうですが～ — put at the front. "Sorry for the bother, but ~." Compare お手数てすうをおかけしますが, which explicitly names the effort — better for multi-step tasks (print, sign, scan).
• ～のほど — legitimate formal softener, put before the closing: ご確認かくにんのほどよろしくお願ねがいいたします. Do not confuse with Baito-keigo ～のほう (see A7) — different word, different job.
• ～ますでしょうか — softens a yes/no question: ご覧らんいただけますでしょうか. Common in service and email. Avoid stacking on forms that already contain いただけます repeatedly — it starts to sound awkward.

Built-up example

1. Neutral polite

   待まってください
2. Formal

   お待まちください
3. Kenjōgo question

   お待まちいただけますか
4. More polite (negative)

   お待まちいただけませんか
5. Soft (with 幸いです)

   お待まちいただけると幸さいわいです
6. Most formal email version

   恐おそれ入いりますが、お待まちいただけますようお願ねがい申もうし上あげます

• Using Sonkeigo about yourself or your side — the most common mistake for learners. If you catch yourself saying 私わたしがいらっしゃいます, switch to Kenjōgo (join → 参加さんかいたします, not join → ご参加さんかになります).
• Using Kenjōgo about the other side — お客様きゃくさまが申もうしておりました is wrong. Use おっしゃっていました.
• Mixing up くれる and あげる — the direction is fixed. 「先生せんせいが私わたしにあげた」is wrong. Use くれた (the teacher gave to me).
• ～て差さし上あげる in speech — grammatically Kenjōgo, but sounds like you are doing an unwanted favour. Prefer お～する or ～いたします.
• ご苦労くろうさま vs お疲つかれさま — ご苦労くろうさま is said from higher to lower (boss to subordinate). Do not say it to someone above you. Use お疲つかれさまです.
• Forgetting the special ～います form — ✗いらっしゃります → ○いらっしゃいます. The same for おっしゃる, なさる, くださる, ござる.

The basic rules (Sonkeigo → not me, Kenjōgo → me) work clearly for first person and second person. Third people are more complicated. It depends on in-group / out-group (内うち・外そと, uchi/soto).

Talking to an outsider about your own side

When you are talking to a customer, another company, or a stranger about someone in your own group (your boss, your colleague, your family):

• Your boss is now uchi (inside) compared to the customer. You use Kenjōgo — or at least no Sonkeigo — about your boss's actions.

• The customer (and anyone on their side) still gets Sonkeigo.

Talking inside your own group

When you are talking to a junior colleague about your own boss, your boss is now soto (outside) compared to you in the hierarchy — so you use Sonkeigo.

The さん-drop rule

When you refer to your own uchi members in front of an outsider, you also drop さん and the position title from their name. It is 田中たなかは席せきを外はずしております, not 田中たなかさんは… or 田中たなか部長ぶちょうは…. Adding a title in front of an outsider raises your own side — the opposite of what humbling is meant to do.

Decision table — the three verbs of いる

Because this comes up so often in phone and reception Japanese:

The Kansai form おられる (おる + honorific ～れる) is used in western Japan and some business speech for respected third parties, but many hear おる as humble and feel it lowers the subject. When in doubt with a customer, いらっしゃいます is always safe.

When reading: a Kenjōgo verb does not have to mean the subject is 私わたし literally. It can be anyone on the speaker's side — a colleague, a subordinate, a family member — as long as the speaker is talking to someone outside the group. The verb tells you "in-group," not "first person."

Some grammar books call this a fourth type. It is the お ／ ご added to nouns to make them sound nicer (お茶ちゃ, お金かね, ご飯はん). It is not linked to any specific person, and it is not really honorific — it just makes the speaker sound refined. Sometimes grouped under Teineigo.

Which prefix, and when

Common exceptions to memorise

Several 漢語かんご words take お, not ご, because they've been fully assimilated:

• お時間じかん, お電話でんわ, お食事しょくじ, お料理りょうり, お約束やくそく, お返事へんじ — all 漢語かんご but take お.
• A few take either: お返事へんじ ／ ご返事へんじ, お誕生日たんじょうび ／ ご誕生日たんじょうび.

Mandatory vs optional

Some prefixes have fused so completely that dropping them sounds rude or childish (お茶ちゃ, お金かね, おなか, ご飯はん). Others are optional — using them signals refined register but dropping them is fine (お皿さら, お酒さけ, お店みせ). Overusing お in casual speech makes you sound affected; underusing it in service or business Japanese sounds rough.

Same prefix, different job

The same お ／ ご can be either Bikago (just refined) or Sonkeigo (respecting a specific person), depending on whose thing it is. お名前なまえ in お名前なまえをお願ねがいします is Sonkeigo — the name belongs to the listener. お茶ちゃ in お茶ちゃを飲のもう is Bikago — nobody's name is on the tea.

In 2007 the Japanese government (文化ぶんか審議会しんぎかい) split 謙譲語けんじょうご into two sub-types. What textbooks call "Kenjōgo" is actually two different things doing two different jobs:

Applying it to each pair

• 伺うかがう vs 参まいる — 明日あす、御社おんしゃに伺うかがいます (respected destination = 御社おんしゃ) vs 明日あす、大阪おおさかに参まいります (no respected target — just formal).
• 申もうし上あげる vs 申もうす — お礼れいを申もうし上あげます (thanks directed to someone) vs 田中たなかと申もうします (self-introduction; naming isn't directed at any specific respected person).
• 存ぞんじ上あげる vs 存ぞんじる — 田中たなか様さまは存ぞんじ上あげております (knowing a person you respect) vs その件けんは存ぞんじません (knowing a fact or proposition — no person to respect).

Reading examples

Why it matters when reading: when you see a Teichōgo verb (参まいる, 申もうす, いたす, 存ぞんじる, おる), it tells you the speaker is being polite to the listener, not necessarily to anyone in the sentence. It is the language of announcements, self-introductions, and business PA. Seeing おる alone (「席せきを外はずしております」) does not mean the subject is being looked down on — Teichōgo is just the formal register.

～れる ／ られる has three different uses that look the same:

1. Passive: 財布さいふを盗ぬすまれた ("my wallet was stolen").
2. Potential: 食たべられる ("can eat").
3. Honorific: 社長しゃちょうが話はなされた ("the president spoke").

Diagnostic — which one is it?

Business email and news often use honorific ～れる because it is shorter and less stiff than お～になる. If the subject is clearly a respected person and there is no passive agent, ～れる is honorific.

Two edge cases worth recognising

• Adversative passive. An に-marked agent + a nuance of harm to the speaker: 子供こどもに泣なかれた ("the child cried on me"), 雨あめに降ふられた ("got rained on"). Common in speech and fiction. Never honorific.
• Causative-passive. ～させられる ("was made to ~"): 残業ざんぎょうさせられた ("was forced to do overtime"). Distinct from both plain passive and honorific.

Trade-off: because ～れる is softer, it can feel not polite enough to very traditional readers. It also looks the same as the passive, so mistakes are easy to miss. お読よみになる is clear; 読よまれる is not.

In theory, this is Kenjōgo. Literally: "I receive the favour of being allowed to ～." In modern Japanese, this form has spread so widely that a NHK reader once said 「休業きゅうぎょうさせていただきます」when nobody's permission was needed.

• ○ 「本日ほんじつはお休やすみさせていただきます」— the listener has (in some way) given permission.
• ✗ 「拝見はいけんさせていただきます」— extra, because 拝見はいけんする is already Kenjōgo.
• ✗ 「田中たなかと呼よばせていただきます」— nobody gave permission; say 「田中たなかと申もうします」.

The gray zone. A large number of forms are heard constantly in business Japanese but fail the strict permission test: ご説明せつめいさせていただきます, ご紹介しょうかいさせていただきます, ご連絡れんらくさせていただきます, ご報告ほうこくさせていただきます, ご担当たんとうさせていただきます, お電話でんわさせていただきます, 退席たいせきさせていただきます. Native speakers accept them, but a stricter grammarian would replace each with the ～いたします version. Recognise them as widely used — do not treat them as cleanly correct or cleanly wrong.

It is widely used anyway. Understand it, but do not use it too often.

Stacking keigo on top of keigo is against the rules, but people often do it when they are nervous or want to sound extra polite.

• ✗ お読よみになられる (お～になる ＋ ～れる — two layers of Sonkeigo).
• ✗ ご覧らんになられる (same problem).
• ✗ おっしゃられる (おっしゃる is already Sonkeigo).

Some double forms have become standard and are now accepted:

• ○ お召めし上あがりになる (召めし上あがる ＋ お～になる).
• ○ お伺うかがいする (伺うかがう ＋ お～する).
• ○ 拝見はいけんいたします (拝見はいけん ＋ いたす) — two humble elements from different word-classes doing different jobs. Not treated as 二重にじゅう敬語けいご by native speakers.

When reading: stacked keigo means the speaker is either (a) using a form that has become standard, or (b) making a mistake because they are nervous. Both are common.

A group of retail and service phrases that grammar books call wrong, but that you will hear every day in convenience stores and restaurants.

• ✗ よろしかったでしょうか → ○ よろしいでしょうか (wrong tense — the check is happening now, not in the past).
• ✗ ～のほう (「お会計かいけいのほう、一万円いちまんえんになります」) → ○ お会計かいけいは一万円いちまんえんです (のほう adds nothing and makes the reference unclear).
• ✗ ～から (「一万円いちまんえんからお預あずかりします」) → ○ 一万円いちまんえんお預あずかりします (から has no meaning here).
• ✗ ～になります used for identity (「こちらがコーヒーになります」) → ○ こちらがコーヒーです (nothing is becoming anything; になる is for change).

Native speakers react differently. Older listeners get annoyed; younger speakers hardly notice.

• ～様さま — the standard respectful title. Used in writing (envelopes, invoices) and formal speech.
• ～殿どの — used in official or internal documents to subordinates or peers. Do not use it to someone above you — it can sound like you are looking down on them.
• ～氏し — used in news writing ("Mr. / Ms." in a news article). Neutral.
• ～先生せんせい — teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, authors. Wider than just "teacher."
• 御中おんちゅう — used on envelopes when the letter is going to an organisation, not a person (株式会社かぶしきがいしゃABC 御中おんちゅう). Never use it together with ～様さま.
• 各位かくい — "to everyone concerned." Used in group emails and notices. Replaces ～様さま for individuals.

These are keigo used as fixed phrases. Native readers understand them as chunks, not word by word. Each phrase has a specific slot — using the wrong one for the wrong relationship is a common giveaway.

Openers

• お世話せわになっております — standard external opener (email or phone). Implies an ongoing relationship. For a first-ever contact, use 初はじめてご連絡れんらくいたします or 突然とつぜんのご連絡れんらく失礼しつれいいたします instead.
• お疲つかれ様さまです — internal only. Standard opener for emails inside your company. ✗ Do not use with clients — it implies they are a colleague. Use お世話せわになっております instead.
• ご返信へんしんが遅おそくなり大変たいへん失礼しつれいいたしました — apology opener when you're replying late. Slot it before the main message.

Closings

• よろしくお願ねがいいたします — the standard closing. It is a closing, not an opener — do not put it at the top of an email.
• 何卒なにとぞよろしくお願ねがい申もうし上あげます — the most polite closing. Formal external email, first-contact, or requests to senior parties.
• 取とり急いそぎ、ご連絡れんらくまで — "quick note" sign-off. Signals brevity, appropriate when replying fast. Do not use for formal or first-contact emails.

But what about messaging? (Slack, LINE, WhatsApp)

• Workplace chat (Slack / Teams): お疲つかれ様さまです becomes the universal opener — お世話せわになっております sounds oddly stiff in internal chat. Letter-style structure disappears entirely.
• Closings shrink: よろしくお願ねがいいたします survives as the all-purpose sign-off. What disappears is the letter apparatus — 拝啓はいけい／敬具けいぐ and seasonal greetings (時候じこうの挨拶あいさつ). Sign-offs like 取とり急いそぎ、ご連絡れんらくまで still appear in chat, just less obligatory than in email.
• Personal messaging (LINE / WhatsApp) with someone above you — a teacher, senpai, or older acquaintance: keep です／ます, drop the business set phrases. A bare polite sentence is correct, not rude. For emoji and stamps, follow the other person's lead.

Phrases you drop into a request to reduce its bite. Each one signals a different flavour of hedging — they are not interchangeable.

• 恐おそれ入いりますが — "sorry to trouble you, but ~." The all-purpose front-loaded apology. Neutral, works for almost any imposition.
• お手数てすうですが — "sorry for the bother, but ~." Slightly more concrete than 恐おそれ入いりますが. Names the imposition as a hassle.
• お手数てすうをおかけしますが — stronger version, specifically for multi-step tasks (print, sign, scan). Explicitly acknowledges the effort you are asking for.
• 差さし支つかえなければ — "if it causes you no inconvenience ~." Signals that the listener is free to decline. Use for optional or sensitive asks (差さし支つかえなければ、ご予算よさんを教おしえていただけますでしょうか).
• ～のほど — legitimate formal softener placed before the closing: ご確認かくにんのほどよろしくお願ねがいいたします. Do not confuse with Baito-keigo ～のほう (see A7) — same syllables, different word, different role.
• ～と幸さいわいです ／ ～ば幸さいわいです — "I would be grateful if ~." Softens a request into a wish. See §7 for placement on the ladder.

Keigo has two independent axes. The first is politeness height — plain → です／ます → お～する ／ お～になる → いたします ／ 申もうし上あげる. The second is tone and register — how much softening is present, and whether the writer is being ceremonial or conversational. A message can be perfectly polite by height and still read as cold, impatient, or slightly annoyed.

11.1 Missing softeners read as impatience

When a message drops the softeners the reader was expecting (see A10), the tone shifts even if the keigo itself stays correct. Same request, three tones:

11.2 いただければと思おもいます — polite but conversational

Compare three closings for the same ask:

• お送おくりいただけますようお願ねがい申もうし上あげます — ceremonial. Standard for a formal external email, first contact, or senior recipient.
• お送おくりいただければ幸さいわいです — softer wish. Formal but less binding — appropriate when the ask is optional or when you want to give the reader room.
• お送おくりいただければと思おもいます — polite, conversational. Fully in keigo, but literally "I would think it good if you sent it" — less of a formal request, more of a shared expectation. Common in Slack, Teams, and internal follow-ups where the ceremonial closing would feel over-formal.

Some strict style guides push back on ～いただければと思おもいます for high-stakes external asks — 思おもいます literally makes it a wish rather than a request, which can read as vague. Recognise it as polite; use it where a conversational register fits.

Chunks that show up in specific business situations. Recognise them as one unit.

Sending and receiving documents

• ご査収さしゅうください — "please check and accept." Standard when attaching documents to an email.
• 拝受はいじゅいたしました — "I have humbly received (your document)." Formal receipt acknowledgment, stronger than 受うけ取とりました.
• お納おさめください — "please accept (this gift)." For gifts, not documents.

Phone and message relay

• 申もうし伝つたえます — humble verb for relaying a message on behalf of an in-group member. 田中たなかに申もうし伝つたえます — "I will pass this on to Tanaka."
• 席せきを外はずしております — "is away from their desk." Set phone-Japanese phrase.

Notices and warnings

• ご了承りょうしょうください ／ ご了承りょうしょう願ねがいます — "please understand / please note." Used when announcing an inconvenience (closures, price changes).
• お含ふくみおきください — "please bear this in mind." Slightly softer than ご了承りょうしょうください.

Three phrases all mean "I understand / I've got it," but they sit on distinct rungs. Picking the wrong one — especially 了解りょうかいしました to a client — is a common learner error.

Default to 承知しょうちしました in business email when in doubt — it's polite enough for anyone above you, and not so stiff that it feels out of place.

Where to go from here:

1. Company-internal keigo (社内しゃない敬語けいご) vs customer-facing keigo (対外たいがい敬語けいご) — how the same person is referred to differently depending on who is listening.
2. Email openings and closings — 拝啓はいけい・敬具けいぐ, 前略ぜんりゃく・草々そうそう, seasonal greetings (時候じこうの挨拶あいさつ). Very stylised — you can learn them as templates.
3. The 2007 five-category classification — the modern government classification (尊敬語そんけいご, 謙譲語けんじょうごⅠ, 謙譲語けんじょうごⅡ／丁重語ていちょうご, 丁寧語ていねいご, 美化語びかご). Useful when reading Japanese grammar references.
4. Regional and generational differences — Kansai keigo (～はる as a softened honorific, おられる for a respected third party), younger speakers avoiding overly stiff forms, differences between feminine and masculine registers.
5. Reading real material — NHK announcements, department store PA, business email templates, keigo in 時代劇じだいげき (period dramas — often uses old-style keigo).