JLPT N5EverydayPolite

お・ごpolite prefixes; "your …"

お and ご go in front of a word to make it polite. On the other person's things they are a respectful "your": お名な前まえ is your name, never mine. On some everyday words, like お茶ちゃ, they are just part of the word.

your name

ここにお名な前まえを書かいてください。

Please write your name here.

your family

ご家か族ぞくはお元げん気きですか。

Is your family well?

just the word

冬ふゆは温あたたかいお茶ちゃがおいしいです。

Hot tea is delicious in winter.

How to form it

お／ご + noun or adjective

お mostly goes with native Japanese words and ご with words that came from Chinese, but many everyday words break that. A word is best learned with its prefix.

A respectful "your"

With お or ご, the word belongs to the person you are being polite to, or about. That is why お名な前まえは？ needs no あなたの. Shop and hotel staff put one on nearly everything of yours.

ご住じゅう所しょは変かわりましたか。

Has your address changed?

お仕し事ごとは何なんですか。

What do you do for work?

お荷に物もつはこちらです。

Your luggage is here.

お電でん話わ、ありがとうございました。

Thank you for calling.

It goes on adjectives about the other person too: お元げん気きですか, お忙いそがしいですか, お上手じょうずですね.

It comes off when the word is yours

The respect is for the other person, so your own name, family and health take no prefix. With friends it isn't needed at all: 名な前まえは？, 元げん気き？.

A

お元げん気きですか。

How are you?

B

はい、元げん気きです。

Yes, I'm well.

Not said: 私わたしのお名な前まえは田た中なかです。

(My name is Tanaka.)

田た中なかです, or 名な前まえは田た中なかです.

Just the polite word

Some everyday words nearly always wear お or ご, whoever they belong to: お茶ちゃ (tea), お金かね (money), ご飯はん (rice, a meal), お酒さけ (alcohol), お風ふ呂ろ (bath), お手て洗あらい (toilet). My own tea is お茶ちゃ too.

朝あさは温あたたかいお茶ちゃを飲のみます。

I drink hot tea in the morning.

今日きょうはお金かねがありません。

I don't have any money today.

この店みせのお菓か子しは人にん気きがあります。

The sweets from this shop are popular.

Without it some can sound rough: 金かね, 酒さけ, and 飯めし for ご飯はん.

お or ご?

お: native Japanese words	ご: words from Chinese	お, although from Chinese
お名な前まえ name	ご住じゅう所しょ address	お電でん話わ phone call
お国くに country	ご家か族ぞく family	お時じ間かん time
お手て紙がみ letter	ご意い見けん opinion	お食しょく事じ meal
お部屋へや room	ご注ちゅう文もん order	お元げん気き well

Most nouns take neither, and words in katakana usually don't: 駅えき, 会かい社しゃ and コーヒー stay as they are.

お・ご before a verb

お or ご also opens a family of polite verb patterns. After it comes a verb's ます-stem (お待まち) or a する-noun (ご確かく認にん), and the ending tells you who is acting.

お・ご～くださいN4

A polite request.

こちらで少しょう々しょうお待まちください。

Please wait here for a moment.

お・ご～になるN4

Respect for what someone else does.

先せん生せいはもうお帰かえりになりました。

The teacher has already gone home.

お・ご～するN4

Humble: something you do for the other person. The prefix honors them, not you.

こちらのお荷に物もつをお持もちします。

I'll carry this luggage for you.