Activities: Honorifics: Polite expressions, honorific prefixes, and honorific titles

Read the following sentences and make appropriate changes to make them more polite.

• Original sentence:

  さつきさん、水を取ってくれますか。

  Satsuki-san, mizu o totte kuremasu ka.

  Could you pass me the water, Satsuki?

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  さつきさん、お水を取ってくれませんか[Satsuki-san, omizu o totte kuremasen ka.](Could you please pass me the water, Satsuki?)
  Note:
  If you know Satsuki’s last name, you could also make this more formal by calling her by it.

• Original sentence:

  土曜日、祭りに行く？

  Doyōbi, matsuri ni iku?

  Are you going to the festival on Saturday?

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  土曜日、お祭りに行きますか。[Doyōbi, omatsuri ni ikimasu ka.](Are you going to the festival on Saturday?)

• Original sentence:

  そこの店はこの地域の名物をたくさん置いているよ。入ってみる？

  Soko no mise wa kono chi’iki no meibutsu o takusan oite iru yo. Haitte miru?

  That shop stocks a lot of local specialties. Wanna go inside?

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  そこのお店はこの地域の名物をたくさん置いていますよ。入ってみませんか。[Soko no omise wa kono chi’iki no meibutsu o takusan oite imasu yo. Haitte mimasen ka.](That shop stocks a lot of local specialties. Do you want to go inside?)

• Original sentence:

  昨日は、本当にありがとう！

  Kinō wa, hontō ni arigatō!

  Thanks so much for (what you did) yesterday.

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  昨日は、誠にありがとうございました！[Sakujitsu wa, makoto ni arigatō gozaimashita!](Thanks so much for (what you did) yesterday.)
  Note:
  Did you remember that even though the kanji for 昨日 stays the same, the 美化語[bikago] version is read “sakujitsu,” but it is most often used in very formal situations. It would also be appropriate and polite to say きのうは本当にありがとうございました。[Kinō wa hontō ni arigatō gozaimashita.)]

• Original sentence:

  ねえ、正人くん、今夜時間ある？一緒に映画見ない？

  Nē, Masato-kun, kon’ya jikan aru? Issho ni eiga minai?

  Hey Masato, do you have time tonight? Wanna see a movie?

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  すみません、正人さん、今夜時間がありますか。一緒に映画を見ませんか。[Sumimasen, Masato-san, kon’ya jikan ga arimasu ka. Issho ni eiga o mimasen ka.](Excuse me, Masato, do you have time tonight? Would you like to see a movie?)
  Note:
  Did you notice that the particles が[ga] and を[o] which had been omitted in the casual version are restored in the formal version? ねえ[nē] also became すみません[sumimasen], which is a more formal way to get someone’s attention.

Something in the following sentences is not correct, or not polite. Find and correct it.

• Original sentence:

  初めまして、マクミランさんだ。

  Hajimemashite, Makumiran-san da.

  Nice to meet you, I’m Mr. MacMillan.

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  初めまして、マクミランです。[Hajimemashite, Makumiran desu.](Nice to meet you, I’m Mr. MacMillan.)
  

• Original sentence:

  平林さん、腹が減っていますか。今から何か食べに行きましょう。

  Hirabayashi-san, hara ga hette imasu ka. Ima kara nanika tabe ni ikimashō.

  Are you hungry, Ms. Hirabayashi? Let’s go eat something now.

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  土曜日、お祭りに行きますか。[Doyōbi, omatsuri ni ikimasu ka.](Are you going to the festival on Saturday?)

• Original sentence:

  野村さんはよくおテレビを見ますか。

  Nomura-san wa yoku oterebi o mimasuka.

  Do you often watch TV, Mr. Nomura?

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  そこのお店はこの地域の名物をたくさん置いていますよ。入ってみませんか。[Soko no omise wa kono chi’iki no meibutsu o takusan oite imasu yo. Haitte mimasen ka.](That shop stocks a lot of local specialties. Do you want to go inside?)

• Original sentence:

  すみません、さん、落とし物ですよ。

  Sumimasen, san, otoshi mono desu yo.

  Excuse me, ma’am, you dropped something.

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  すみません、〇〇さん、落とし物ですよ。[Sumimasen, _______san, otoshi mono desu yo.](Excuse me, Ms. ______, you dropped something.)
  Note:
  さん[san] and most other honorifics have to be attached to a name, and cannot be used on their own. If, in a situation like this, you don’t know the person’s name, you can simply leave that part out entirely. An employee in a shop might also choose to use お客様[okyaku-sama](customer/guest) in this context.

• Original sentence:

  先生、今日の授業、ありがとうございました。ご苦労様です。

  Sensei, kyō no jugyō, arigatō gozaimashita. Gokurō-sama desu.

  Thanks for the class today, Professor. Thanks for your hard work.

  Polite version:

  Sample answer:
  先生、今日の授業、ありがとうございました。[Sensei, kyō no jugyō, arigatō gozaimashita.](Thanks for the class today, Professor.)
  Note:
  It’s not appropriate to use the expression ご苦労様[gokurō-sama] towards someone who outranks you, such as a professor. It’s not possible to replace it with お疲れ様[otsukare-sama] either, as this expression also should not be used towards superiors.