お方かた

also: おんかた

お

か

た

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

lady; gentleman; person

honorific or respectful (sonkeigo)

Honorific term for a person, often used in formal or respectful contexts. Can refer to a lady, gentleman, or simply a person of higher status.

あのお方かたはどなたですか。
Who is that lady/gentleman?
お方かたのご意い見けんを伺うかがいたいです。
I would like to hear your (honorable) opinion.

See all 10 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈人ひと〉というお方かたa person named/called ~
山やま田だ様さまというお方かたが受うけ付つけにいらっしゃいました。
A person named Mr. Yamada came to the reception desk.
どのお方かたwhich person (polite/honorific)
どのお方かたが社しゃ長ちょうでいらっしゃいますか。
Which of these gentlemen is the president?

Kanji

御honorable, manipulate, govern
方direction, person, alternative

Related words

人ひとN5
人 is the neutral, everyday word for 'person', whereas お方 is explicitly honorific and reserved for respectful or formal speech.

Politeness

方かたpolite 丁寧語N4
方 is the standard polite word for 'person', while お方 adds an extra layer of honorific respect, functioning like a more deferential version of 方.

Counted with

名めいN2
Used to politely count people referred to respectfully as 御方 (おかた), though it's generally just the standard counter for people.
人にん
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).

Word family

頼たのうだ御お方かた
my lord; my master

Built from

Written forms

お方かた
Standard spelling for the honorific term for a person.
御方
- おかた
  Alternate kanji spelling; less common and may be confused with other readings.
- おんかた
  rarely-used kana form
  Rare reading of the 御方 spelling; the kana form is rarely used.
おんかた
rarely-used kana form

Etymology

The prefix お (honorific) + 方 (かた, 'person', polite). The reading おんかた is a rare variant, possibly influenced by other honorific forms.