also: そろ · さう · す
auxiliary
Archaic polite auxiliary used after で or に as a copula, replacing ある in classical Japanese. Found in historical documents and formal pre-modern writing.
これは古い文書に「…に候」とある。
In old documents, you see '…に候' meaning 'it is …'.
auxiliary
Archaic polite auxiliary used in place of ます in classical Japanese, often attached to the continuative form of verbs. See also 候ふ (sense 2).
See also: 候ふ
古文では「書き候」のように使われた。
In classical Japanese, it was used like '書き候' to mean 'I write (politely)'.
Historical kana spelling reflecting older pronunciation; used in pre-modern texts.
Derived from the classical verb 候ふ (そうろう), meaning 'to serve' or 'to be in attendance', which developed into a polite auxiliary. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it became a standard marker of politeness in pre-modern written Japanese.