Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 7: 16/18

お〜するI humbly do, I am obliged to do, Humble speech

Structure

お + Verb［ます］+ する
ご(1) + する［Verb］ + する

(1) お, limited to ［する］Verbs like: 電話(でんわ)する、勉強(べんきょう)する、散歩(さんぽ)する

Details

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    Polite

About お〜する

お〜する comes from a form of polite speech in Japanese called humble speech. This type of speech is used to refer to the speaker and their actions. This is opposed to honorific language, which refers exclusively to the listener and their actions. お〜する is almost exactly the same as お～になる, as in it simply means する.

お〜する is regularly used with words of Japanese origin, while ご～する will be used with words of Chinese origin. The する in this compound will attach directly to the ます stem of almost any verb.

Caution

While the する in this structure will attach directly to the ます stem of verbs, this does not mean that verbs that are already する verbs will become しする. In the case of する verbs, simply change the prefix to ご.

  • ご登録(とうろく)する方(かた)はこちらをクリックしてください。
    For those who want to register, please click here.
  • ご注文(ちゅうもん)する時(とき)はこちらのベルを押(お)してください。
    When you are going to order, please press this bell.

In rare cases, お may be used instead of ご, when attached to words of Chinese origin. There is no specific rule for this, and they must be memorized on a case by case basis.

  • 先輩(せんぱい)にお電話(でんわ)するのがすきです。
    I like to call my senpai.
  • 友達(ともだち)とお勉強(べんきょう)するのは楽(たの)しいです。
    It is fun to study with my friends.

Thankfully, the words of Chinese origin that use お instead of ご are extremely common verbs. This means that you will be exposed to almost all of them very quickly. All others may be assumed to use ご.

Fun Fact

In the same way that お～になる is a more common variation of なさる (both honorific language), お〜する is a more common variation of いたす (both humble speech).

  • 5分後(ふんご)にお電話(でんわ)します。
    After 5 minutes, I will call you. (I will call you in five minutes)
  • 5分後(ふんご)にお電話(でんわ)いたします。
    After 5 minutes, I will call you. (I will call you in five minutes)

Examples

--:--

    ドアをお閉(し)めします。

    I (will) humbly close the door.

    お任(まか)せします。

    I will humbly leave it up to you.

    先生(せんせい)の分(ぶん)もお取(と)りします。

    I will humbly take the teacher's share.

    あなたの分(ぶん)もお作(つく)りします。

    I will also humbly make your share.

    これを彼(かれ)にお渡(わた)ししてください。

    Please humbly hand over this to him.

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      お〜する – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (13 in total)

      • IcyIceBear

        IcyIceBear

        します is the polite conjugation for する, which being the whole point of お〜する is humble politeness, they would all end in します. Daru was just explaining that the questions are testing for お〜する and not お〜ください (even though they are synonyms). Not that every sentence will end in する specifically, since you still have to conjugate the grammar point into the appropriate politeness level. You say it takes いたす、but that’s because it’s already more polite in itself, so the ます ending isn’t entirely necessary. So I’m not sure if there’s a question here …?

        Objectively, this works here because つもり needs plain form before it....

      • brianmik

        brianmik

        I had a different question about the お渡ししてください construction:

        The entire phrase is これを彼にお渡ししてください.

        Since this is humble speech, meant to talk about oneself (and one’s in-group), does this mean that the “him” is the third person that you’re being polite toward, and the actual listener (the person who’s supposed to give him “this”) is in the same group (i.e., family member) as the speaker?

        Basically, I can’t understand why this humble speech pattern is used when asking someone else to do something…

      • MakroneBiest997

        MakroneBiest997

        I have pretty much the same question as Brian, just regarding these example sentences:

        ご注文する時はこちらのベルを押してください。

        And

        ご登録する方はこちらをクリックしてください。

        It seems to me that humble speech is misplaced here, since it is refering to someone elses actions.

        But as usual I’m probably just missing something kinda obvious.

        I would gladly appreciate some clarification regarding these examples, if possible.

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