noun
your business; your concern; your need
Honorific term used when asking about or referring to someone's business, errand, or reason for visiting. Often used in service contexts.
本日のご用は何でしょうか。
What can I do for you today? (lit. What is your business today?)
お客様のご用を承ります。
I will attend to your needs, sir/madam.
noun
your order; customer's order
Honorific term for a customer's order, request, or commission. Common in shops and restaurants.
ご用の品をお持ちいたしました。
I have brought the item you ordered.
ご用をどうぞ。
Please tell me your order.
noun
official business; government business; Imperial Court business
Refers to official duties or affairs of the government, Imperial Court, or other authorities. Not honorific in this sense.
役人が御用で地方へ出張した。
The official went on a business trip to the countryside on government business.
宮中の御用を務める。
To serve in the Imperial Court's official business.
noun
Historical or euphemistic term for arrest by authorities, especially in the Edo period. Now mostly seen in period dramas or set phrases like 御用だ.
「御用だ、御用だ！」と捕り方が叫んだ。
"You are under arrest!" shouted the constables.
時代劇ではよく「御用」という言葉が出てくる。
The word 御用 often appears in period dramas.
noun-modifying (irregular)
pro-government; subservient to authority
Prenominal modifier used for media or organizations that are seen as subservient to the government or authority. Often pejorative.
See also: 御用新聞
その新聞は御用新聞だと批判された。
That newspaper was criticized as a government mouthpiece.
御用学者の意見ばかりが取り上げられる。
Only the opinions of pro-government scholars are picked up.
用事 is a general word for errands or things to do, while 御用 is honorific or official.
注文 is the standard word for 'order' in shops; 御用 is more formal and honorific.
Compound of honorific prefix 御 (ご) and 用 (よう, 'business, use'). The specific senses developed from the basic meaning of 'honorable business'.