お見えになるRespectful arrival or presence
An established respectful expression meaning that a customer, guest, teacher, executive, or another respected person comes, arrives, or is present.
Who receives the respect?
The person who arrives or is present receives the respect. Change only the final なる for tense and politeness; the rest of the expression stays together.
Reporting an arrival
Asking whether someone has arrived
田中先生はもうお見えになりましたか。
Has Professor Tanaka arrived yet?
AnalyzeArrival and resulting presence
The expression can also describe someone as already being present when that presence is understood as the result of their arrival. The form お見えになっている is useful for this.
先生はもう会場にお見えになっています。
The teacher is already at the venue.
AnalyzeThe sentence presents the teacher as having arrived and now being there.
A broader respectful verb
お見えになる focuses on arrival or presence following arrival. いらっしゃる is broader and can respectfully mean “go,” “come,” or “be.”
部長は来週大阪へいらっしゃいます。
The department head will go to Osaka next week.
AnalyzeThis is the broader respectful verb used with the meaning “go,” not the target expression for arrival.
More examples
まもなく会長がお見えになります。
The chairperson will arrive shortly.
Analyze先ほど、取引先の方がお見えになりました。
Someone from one of our business partners arrived a short while ago.
Analyze支店長はまだお見えになっていません。
The branch manager has not arrived yet.
Analyzeどちらのお客様がお見えになる予定ですか。
Which customer is scheduled to arrive?
Analyze専務がお見えになったら、こちらへご案内ください。
When the managing director arrives, please show them this way.
Analyze明日の式典には、理事長もお見えになるそうです。
I hear that the chairperson will also be coming to tomorrow's ceremony.
Analyzeお客様は何時ごろお見えになりますか。
About what time will the customer arrive?
Analyze