Where 尊敬語 raises the other person, 謙譲語（humble language） lowers your own side. Most verbs do this by the productive お〜する pattern (お送りする, お持ちする), but the highest-frequency verbs have special suppletive humble words instead — different verbs entirely, respect built in. This page is the closed list, and it carries one distinction the honorific set does not: the humble verbs split into two kinds, and that split is what decides 伺う vs 参る and 申し上げる vs 申す. The anchor is 伺う, the humble form of 行く and 来る toward someone you are honoring.
The special 謙譲語 verbs
| 謙譲語 (special) | Plain base(s) | Kind | 丁寧語 (〜ます) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 伺う | 行く・来る・聞く・尋ねる | 謙譲語 I | 伺います |
| 参る | 行く・来る | 丁重語 (謙譲語 II) | 参ります |
| いただく | 食べる・飲む・もらう | 謙譲語 I | いただきます |
| 拝見する | 見る | 謙譲語 I | 拝見します |
| 申し上げる | 言う (to an honored person) | 謙譲語 I | 申し上げます |
| 申す | 言う (neutral humble) | 丁重語 (謙譲語 II) | 申します |
| いたす | する | 丁重語 (謙譲語 II) | いたします |
| おる | いる | 丁重語 (謙譲語 II) | おります |
| 存じ上げる | 知る・思う (a person) | 謙譲語 I | 存じ上げます |
| 存じる | 知る・思う (a fact) | 丁重語 (謙譲語 II) | 存じております |
| お目にかかる | 会う | 謙譲語 I | お目にかかります |
| 差し上げる | あげる・やる | 謙譲語 I | 差し上げます |
Readings: 伺（うかが）う (ukagau), 参（まい）る (mairu), いただく (itadaku), 拝見（はいけん）する (haiken suru), 申（もう）し上（あ）げる (mōshiageru), 申（もう）す (mōsu), いたす (itasu), おる (oru), 存（ぞん）じ上（あ）げる (zonjiageru), 存（ぞん）じる (zonjiru), お目（め）にかかる (ome ni kakaru), 差（さ）し上（あ）げる (sashiageru). 頂戴（ちょうだい）する (chōdai suru) is a further humble form for もらう／食べる／飲む.
来週、御社へ伺ってもよろしいでしょうか。
raishū, onsha e ukagatte mo yoroshii deshō ka
Would it be all right if I visited your company next week? (伺う — going to the honored person's place)
お名前を伺ってもよろしいですか。
o-namae o ukagatte mo yoroshii desu ka
May I ask your name? (伺う = 'ask', its other humble sense)
The split that runs everything: 謙譲語 I vs 丁重語
Here is the distinction Japanese speakers feel but rarely name, and it is the whole game for this set. Humble verbs come in two kinds (see 謙譲語 I vs II):
- 謙譲語 I lowers your action toward a specific honored person or thing — there is a target being elevated by contrast. 伺う ("I visit you"), 申し上げる ("I say to you"), 拝見する, お目にかかる, いただく, 差し上げる, 存じ上げる. If there is no honored party in the picture, you cannot use these.
- 丁重語（謙譲語 II） simply lowers the tone of your own action politely toward the listener, with no honored target at all. 参る, 申す, いたす, おる, 存じる. A train can 参る — 電車がまいります — even though it honors no one; the humility is toward the listening passengers, not the platform.
電車がまいります。黄色い線の内側までお下がりください。
densha ga mairimasu. kiiroi sen no uchigawa made o-sagari kudasai
The train is arriving. Please stand back behind the yellow line. (参る — a 丁重語 announcement, no one honored)
では、明日の三時に御社へ参ります。
dewa, ashita no sanji ni onsha e mairimasu
Then I'll come to your office at three tomorrow. (参る acceptable for neutral formal 'go'; 伺う would be a shade finer)
申す vs 申し上げる: the same split, in "say"
The 言う row shows the split cleanly. 申し上げる (謙譲語 I) is "say to someone I honor" — thanks, apologies, requests directed at a person. 申す (丁重語) is a plain humble "say" with no honored addressee — most famously giving your own name.
私、営業部の佐藤と申します。
watashi, eigyōbu no satō to mōshimasu
I'm Sato, from the sales department. (申す — stating my own name, no one honored)
この度は、心よりお礼を申し上げます。
kono tabi wa, kokoro yori o-rei o mōshiagemasu
I offer my heartfelt thanks on this occasion. (申し上げる — thanks directed AT the honored listener)
存じる vs 存じ上げる: facts vs people
The 知る／思う row splits by what you know. 存じる（存じております） is for facts and things (丁重語). 存じ上げる is reserved for people you know of (謙譲語 I) — knowing a person is knowing someone you elevate.
その件でしたら、事情はよく存じております。
sono ken deshitara, jijō wa yoku zonjite orimasu
As for that matter, I'm well aware of the circumstances. (存じる — a fact)
お名前は、かねてより存じ上げております。
o-namae wa, kanete yori zonjiagete orimasu
I've known of you for a long time. (存じ上げる — knowing a person)
The rest of the set in real use
お送りいただいたメール、拝見しました。
ookuri itadaita mēru, haiken shimashita
I've read the email you sent. (拝見する = humble 見る)
あいにく、担当の者はただ今席を外しております。
ainiku, tantō no mono wa tadaima seki o hazushite orimasu
Unfortunately, the person in charge is away from their desk right now. (おる — humbling my own in-group)
本日はお目にかかれて、大変光栄です。
honjitsu wa ome ni kakarete, taihen kōei desu
I'm truly honored to meet you today. (お目にかかる = humble 会う)
詳しい資料は、後ほどメールで差し上げます。
kuwashii shiryō wa, nochihodo mēru de sashiagemasu
I'll send you the detailed materials by email later. (差し上げる = humble あげる)
The pitfall: humble verbs lower YOUR side only
The cardinal error is aiming a humble verb at the person you should be elevating. 参る, おる, 申す lower the subject — so the honored person's "go," "be," or "say" must never take them. The customer does not 参る; they いらっしゃる. The teacher does not おる; they いらっしゃる.
社長のご子息にお目にかかったことがございます。
shachō no go-shisoku ni ome ni kakatta koto ga gozaimasu
I've had the honor of meeting the president's son. (my meeting, humbled — correct direction)
Common mistakes
❌ 先生は明日、こちらに伺いますか。
Wrong direction — 伺う lowers the subject, but the teacher must be elevated. Their coming is いらっしゃる.
✅ 先生は明日、こちらにいらっしゃいますか。
sensei wa ashita, kochira ni irasshaimasu ka
Will the teacher be coming here tomorrow? (尊敬語 for the teacher)
❌ お客様は、二階の会議室におります。
Wrong — おる humbles the subject; a customer must be raised. Use いらっしゃいます.
✅ お客様は、二階の会議室にいらっしゃいます。
okyakusama wa, nikai no kaigishitsu ni irasshaimasu
The customer is in the second-floor meeting room. (尊敬語 いらっしゃる)
❌ はじめまして、田中と申し上げます。
Wrong — giving your own name has no honored addressee, so it's 丁重語 申す, not 申し上げる (which needs a person you're speaking TO).
✅ はじめまして、田中と申します。
hajimemashite, tanaka to mōshimasu
Nice to meet you — my name is Tanaka. (申す for a self-introduction)
❌ その規則については、よく存じ上げております。
Wrong — a rule is a fact, not a person; use 存じる (存じております). 存じ上げる is reserved for knowing PEOPLE.
✅ その規則については、よく存じております。
sono kisoku ni tsuite wa, yoku zonjite orimasu
I'm well aware of that rule. (存じる for facts)
Key takeaways
- The special humble verbs: 伺う／参る (行く／来る), いただく (食べる／飲む／もらう), 拝見する (見る), 申し上げる／申す (言う), いたす (する), おる (いる), 存じ上げる／存じる (知る／思う), お目にかかる (会う), 差し上げる (あげる).
- The master split is 謙譲語 I vs 丁重語: 謙譲語 I needs a specific honored target (伺う, 申し上げる, お目にかかる, 存じ上げる); 丁重語 just lowers your own tone with no one honored (参る, 申す, いたす, おる, 存じる).
- 伺う vs 参る: 伺う to an honored person's place / to ask them; 参る for neutral formal "go/come" (announcements). 申し上げる vs 申す: to an honored addressee vs plain humble (own name). 存じ上げる vs 存じる: people vs facts.
- Humble verbs lower your side only — never aim them at the person you should elevate (×先生が伺う, ×お客様がおる → いらっしゃる).
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- 尊敬語⇄謙譲語⇄Plain: Master Pair TableN3 — The keystone desk-reference pairing each everyday verb with its 尊敬語 (raise the other person) and 謙譲語 (lower yourself), across plain, honorific, humble, and です／ます — and the rule that direction of respect, not politeness level, picks the column.
- お〜する／いたす: Regular Humble FormationN3 — The single-shape reference for the productive humble: お + ます-stem + する／いたす across every verb class — with the ご + Sino variant, the full paradigm, and the one condition (an honored recipient) that the pattern needs to make sense.
- 謙譲語I vs II (丁重語): ReferenceN2 — A reference table splitting the two kinds of humble verb — 謙譲語I (伺う・申し上げる), which elevates a specific person the action reaches, versus 謙譲語II／丁重語 (参る・申す・おる), which merely dignifies your own act toward the listener.
- Special Kenjougo VerbsN3 — The suppletive humble verbs — 参る・伺う, 申す・申し上げる, いたす, 拝見する, いただく, おる, 存じる and the rest — that override お〜する for Japanese's highest-frequency verbs, sorted by the 謙譲語I / 丁重語 split that tells you whether each one needs an honored target.
- 謙譲語 Overview: Lowering Yourself to Raise ThemN3 — How humble language lowers your own action to elevate, by contrast, the out-group person it touches — the two routes (special humble verbs and the productive お〜する), and the modern split between 謙譲語I and 丁重語 that decides whether a form needs an honored target at all.