Keigo Examples: Sentences, Dialogues, and Common Mistakes

Table of contents

Who this article is for

• Expats working in Japanese companies who know the three keigo types but freeze when they have to stitch full sentences together for an email or meeting
• JLPT N3–N1 learners who memorized meshiagaru and itadaku but still don’t see how they slot into real prose
• Anyone who’s already read the keigo guide or keigo cheat sheet and wants to see full sentences and dialogues to lock in the feel

What is keigo — the 60-second version

There are three types of keigo. The full explanation lives in the keigo guide; this page focuses on examples.

The single rule that drives everything below: subject is the other person → sonkeigo; subject is you → kenjougo; smoothing the sentence ending only → teineigo.

How to read this article

The A/B/C politeness levels

At Real-World Japanese, we teach keigo as three rephrasings of the same intent — A, B, and C.

When in doubt, pick B. B is the safe default for ~80% of workplace situations. C with a peer creates strange distance; A with your boss is a non-starter.

Inline annotation legend

Each example below is tagged so you can see the keigo type at a glance.

Keep this legend nearby as you scan the scenes that follow.

Examples by scene — 10 situations × A/B/C

The 10 moments you’ll hit most days at work, with the same intent rendered at three politeness levels and a wrong-form pair non-natives commonly produce.

1. Greeting on arrival

⚠ Mistake: A-level greetings work with a narrow set of people. Default to B even with peers — you can drop down later.

2. Saying thank you

⚠ Mistake: “Go-kurō-sama desu” is top-down only — supervisors say it to subordinates, not the reverse. Use “otsukare-sama desu” with seniors and peers.

3. A light apology (lateness, typo, etc.)

⚠ Mistake: When the issue is serious, “sumimasen” alone reads as light. Shift to C.

4. Making a request

⚠ Mistake: “o-negai sasete itadakimasu” piles on unnecessary sasete itadaku. Plain “o-negai itashimasu” is enough.

5. Declining or saying no

⚠ Mistake: “Dekimasen” (“I can’t”) lands too hard. “Muzukashii” (“difficult”) and “tsugō ga tsukazu” (“circumstances don’t align”) are the real ways to refuse.

6. Acknowledging or confirming

⚠ Mistake (the #1 non-native error): using “ryōkai shimashita” with clients. “Ryōkai” carries a faint “acknowledged from above” tone for many native ears. With anyone external, switch to “shōchi itashimashita” or “kashikomarimashita.”

7. Asking a question

⚠ Mistake: “o-ukagai sasete itadaku” is double-keigo (ukagau is already humble). “o-ukagai shimasu” or “ukagaimasu” is enough.

8. Stepping out of a meeting

⚠ Mistake: At a client site, when describing someone’s absence as a state, the right form is “hazushite orimasu” (not “hazushite imasu”). “Hazusasete itadakimasu” is reserved for asking permission to step out yourself.

9. Ending a call or closing a meeting

⚠ Mistake: Hanging up without “shitsurei shimasu” / “shitsurei itashimasu” sounds abrupt. Train yourself to end every call with this set phrase.

10. Email opener and signature

⚠ Mistake: Internal email = B, external email = C. Using C inside your own company sounds standoffish, almost passive-aggressive.

Five fully-rendered worked examples

The phrases above are the building blocks. Here’s how they connect into real sequences — five end-to-end scenes with line-level annotations.

Scene 1: Job interview (entering the room to leaving it)

Setup: a candidate meeting hiring managers. Default level is C; when the candidate describes their own experience, kenjougo lowers their side.

(entering)
Candidate: 失礼いたします。 [tei]
           shitsurei itashimasu — "Excuse me."

           本日はお忙しい中、お時間をいただきありがとうございます。 [ken]
           honjitsu wa o-isogashii naka, o-jikan o itadaki arigatō gozaimasu —
           "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today."

           ◯◯と申します。 [ken: "mōsu"] どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。 [ken]
           ◯◯ to mōshimasu — "I am ◯◯." Dōzo yoroshiku o-negai itashimasu —
           "Pleased to meet you."

Interviewer: ◯◯さんですね。お座りください。 [son: "o-kake kudasai"]

Candidate: 失礼いたします。 [tei] (sits)

Interviewer: では、自己紹介をお願いします。

Candidate: はい。◯◯と申します。 [ken]
           前職では◯◯社で営業を担当しておりました。 [ken: "oru"]
           zenshoku de wa ◯◯-sha de eigyō o tantō shite orimashita —
           "At my previous company, ◯◯-sha, I was in sales."

           本日はどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。 [ken]

(end of interview)
Candidate: 本日は貴重なお時間をいただき、誠にありがとうございました。 [ken]
           honjitsu wa kichō na o-jikan o itadaki, makoto ni arigatō gozaimashita —
           "Thank you sincerely for your valuable time today."

           失礼いたします。 [tei] (bows and exits)

⚠ Mistake to avoid: When describing your own experience, don’t reach for sonkeigo. “Tantō shite irasshaimashita” sounds like you’re elevating yourself — irassharu is the other person’s verb. The right form is “tantō shite orimashita” (using the humble oru).

Scene 2: Apology email to a client (full body)

Setup: a deliverable shipped with errors and the client flagged it. Subject line through closing, end-to-end.

Subject: 【お詫び】◯◯案件 納品物の修正のご報告

〇〇株式会社
△△様

いつも大変お世話になっております。 [ken: "oru"]
株式会社□□の◇◇でございます。 [tei: "gozaru"]

このたびは、◯◯案件の納品物に不備があり、 [tei]
△△様にご迷惑をおかけしましたこと、     ⚠ "go-meiwaku o kakemashita" alone is too light
誠に申し訳ございません。 [ken+tei]

ご指摘いただきました件につきまして、     [ken: "itadaku"]
社内で確認のうえ、修正版を本日中に      [tei]
お送りいたします。 [ken: "o- + itasu"]

今後はこのようなことがないよう、         [tei]
チェック体制を見直してまいります。       [ken: "mairu"]

ご多忙のところお手数をおかけし、         [tei]
重ねてお詫び申し上げます。 [ken: "mōshiageru"]

何卒よろしくお願い申し上げます。         [ken]

------------------------------
株式会社□□
営業部 ◇◇ ◇◇
TEL: 03-XXXX-XXXX
Email: [email protected]
------------------------------

⚠ Mistake to avoid: “Mōshiwake arimasen” reads as less formal than “mōshiwake gozaimasen.” For external apologies, use “gozaimasen.” For heavier situations, escalate to “makoto ni mōshiwake gozaimasen” and close with “kasanete o-wabi mōshiagemasu” (“I apologize once again”).

→ For full email structure, see Japanese business email template.

Scene 3: Handling a phone call (receiving → transferring → returning)

Setup: an inbound call comes in for a colleague. Phone handling is the most heavily-templated keigo situation in the entire workplace.

You: お電話ありがとうございます。 [tei]
     o-denwa arigatō gozaimasu — "Thank you for calling."

     株式会社□□、◇◇でございます。 [tei: "gozaru"]
     kabushiki-gaisha □□, ◇◇ de gozaimasu — "This is ◇◇ at □□."

Caller: 〇〇株式会社の△△と申します。 [ken: "mōsu"]
        営業部の□□様はいらっしゃいますでしょうか。 [son: "irassharu"]

You: △△様、いつもお世話になっております。 [ken: "oru"]
     □□でございますね。少々お待ちくださいませ。 [son: "o- + kudasaru"]
     (puts caller on hold → discovers □□ is unavailable)

     ……

You: (returning) 大変お待たせいたしました。 [ken+tei]
     taihen o-matase itashimashita — "Thank you for holding."

     申し訳ございません、 ⚠ □□は席を外しております。 [ken: "oru" — lowers your colleague]
     mōshiwake gozaimasen, □□ wa seki o hazushite orimasu —
     "I'm sorry, □□ is away from their desk."

     戻り次第、こちらからお電話を                 [tei]
     差し上げるようお伝えいたします。 [ken: "sashiageru" + "mōshitsutaeru"]
     modori-shidai, kochira kara o-denwa o sashiageru yō o-tsutae itashimasu —
     "When they're back, I'll let them know to return your call."

Caller: では、お願いいたします。

You: かしこまりました。 [ken: "kashikomaru"]
     お電話ありがとうございました。
     失礼いたします。 [tei] (waits for the caller to hang up first)

⚠ Mistake to avoid: When you talk about your own colleagues to an outside caller, they become uchi (your in-group) — even your boss. You lower them with kenjougo. ”□□ buchō wa seki o hazushite irasshaimasu” uses sonkeigo on your own colleague and is wrong. The right form is ”□□ wa seki o hazushite orimasu.”

Scene 4: Meeting self-introduction into agenda hand-off

Setup: opening a cross-team or external meeting. Introduce yourself, then move into the agenda.

You: 本日は貴重なお時間をいただき、     [ken: "itadaku"]
     ありがとうございます。

     改めまして、株式会社□□、         [tei]
     営業部の◇◇と申します。 [ken: "mōsu"]
     本日はどうぞよろしくお願いいたします。 [ken]

     早速ですが、本日のアジェンダを     [tei]
     ご説明いたします。 [ken: "go- + itasu"]
     go-setsumei itashimasu — "I'll walk you through today's agenda."

     まず、◯◯のご報告から              [tei]
     始めたいと思います。
     mazu, ◯◯ no go-hōkoku kara hajimetai to omoimasu —
     "First, I'd like to begin with the ◯◯ update."

     (shares the deck)

     何かご不明な点がございましたら、   [son: "go-" + tei: "gozaru"]
     途中でも遠慮なくお聞きください。   [son: "o- + kudasaru"]
     nanika go-fumei na ten ga gozaimashitara, tochū demo enryo naku
     o-kiki kudasai — "If anything is unclear, please ask anytime."

⚠ Mistake to avoid: “Sasete itadaku” is meant for actions that genuinely require the other party’s permission. Stacking it on routine business — “go-setsumei sasete itadakimasu,” “hajimesasete itadakimasu” — reads as overformal. Cleaner: end-stop with “itasu” or “omou”, as in “go-setsumei itashimasu” and “hajimetai to omoimasu.”

Scene 5: Slack chat (short-form keigo back and forth)

Setup: internal Slack with your boss or another team. Modern Japanese workplaces run on chat, where keigo shows up in compressed, partial form.

Boss: ◯◯さん、明日の会議資料ってもう手元にある？

You:  お疲れ様です。 [tei]
      まだ作成中でして、本日中に
      共有いたします。 [ken: "itasu"]

Boss: 了解、ありがとう！

You:  承知いたしました。 [ken]
      準備でき次第、こちらに添付いたします。 [ken: "itasu"]

A second pattern (a request from another team):

Other team: ◯◯さん、来週の打ち合わせ、◇日◇時で大丈夫ですか？

You:        お声がけありがとうございます。 [tei]
            その日時で問題ございません。 [tei: "gozaru"]
            会議室のご手配をお願いできますでしょうか。 [ken: "go-" + "o-negai suru"]

Other team: はーい、押さえておきます！

You:        助かります。よろしくお願いいたします。 [ken: "itasu"]

⚠ Mistake to avoid: Chat runs on “short, but the respect stays.” Pasting a full email opener like “itsumo taihen osewa ni natte orimasu” into Slack feels heavy and out of register. A single “otsukare-sama desu.” line on top + concise body is the natural fit.

Slack and chat keigo — standalone reference

The top SERP results for keigo still treat email and spoken Japanese as the only registers. But in modern Japanese workplaces, chat is where the action happens. Here’s the short-form keigo breakdown most articles skip.

⚠ Chat ground rules:

• Skip subject lines, addressee names, and full signatures
• Drop “itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu” inside your own company — it doesn’t fit chat
• “Otsukaresama desu.” on a single opening line is the standard
• ”!” is fine internally, never for external messages

Honorific prefixes お and ご — examples

Adding o- / go- doesn’t always make a phrase more polite. Sometimes it makes it wrong.

Natural

⚠ Wrong or unnatural

The safe default: when unsure, leave the prefix off. “o-kentō” or “go-mēru” sound more wrong than no prefix at all.

Five keigo mistakes non-natives make most (with example pairs)

Even if you “don’t think” you make these, you probably make them. Each row pairs the wrong form with the fix.

Mistake 1: Using ryōkai shimashita in external email

“Ryōkai” carries an “acknowledged from above” feel for many native listeners. Inside your team, “ryōkai shimashita” is fine. Externally, switch to “shōchi itashimashita” or “kashikomarimashita.”

Mistake 2: Using go-kurō-sama with seniors

“Go-kurō-sama” is top-down only. With seniors and peers, use “otsukare-sama desu / otsukare-sama deshita.”

Mistake 3: Stacking sasete itadaku

“Sasete itadaku” was designed for actions that genuinely require the other party’s permission. Sending a routine email and explaining your slides do not. “Itashimasu” is enough.

Mistake 4: Pointing humble verbs at the listener

The C-Kenjougo verbs (oru, haiken suru) are for lowering your own actions, not the listener’s. Ask “who’s the subject?” before picking a verb.

Mistake 5: Using sonkeigo on your own colleagues (when speaking to outsiders)

When you talk to someone outside your company, your own boss and CEO become uchi (your in-group). You lower them with kenjougo. This is the exact opposite of the English instinct, which is why non-natives miss it most often.

Want the why? Want a faster reference?

This article shows the examples. Other pieces in the cluster carry complementary jobs:

• Want the framework? → Keigo guide — the explainer for the A/B/C politeness model and the uchi-soto axis
• Want a one-page lookup? → Keigo cheat sheet — 30 verbs and 10 scenarios in scannable tables
• Want to diagnose your own mistakes? → Keigo mistakes guide — 8 errors ranked by severity with a 30-second self-test
• Want scenario phrases you can save as a PDF? → Japanese business phrases PDF page — 30 copy-paste rows, Cmd+P-friendly
• Want the 10 spoken phrases for your first week? → Polite Japanese phrases for the office — chronological office-day walkthrough
• Want full email structure? → Japanese business email template
• Need an interview or self-intro? → Japanese self-introduction for business
• New to keigo and want a study plan? → Best way to learn keigo — a 90-day plan that uses these worked examples as practice material

For a portable practice pack, our Polite Japanese for Work: The Essential 30 ships 30 daily office phrases at all three A/B/C levels, with romaji and situation notes — designed to keep open during meetings.

Frequently asked questions

Is “ryōkai shimashita” always rude in business?

No. It’s fine inside your team and with peers. The risk shows up with external contacts, clients, or anyone senior, where “ryōkai” can carry a faint “acknowledged from above” tone. With those audiences, swap in “shōchi itashimashita” or “kashikomarimashita.” Whether to use “ryōkai” upward inside your own company varies by company culture — when unsure, default to “shōchi shimashita” and you’ll never miss.

Should I avoid “sasete itadaku” entirely?

No, but be deliberate. The phrase was built for actions that genuinely require the other party’s permission — for example, “kaigishitsu o tsukawasete itadaite mo yoroshii deshō ka” (“may I use the meeting room?”) is natural. Stacking it onto routine actions where you’re the subject — “o-okuri sasete itadakimasu,” “go-setsumei sasete itadakimasu” — reads as overformal. If “sasete itadaku” appears 3+ times in a single email, that’s a sign to cut.

Sonkeigo or kenjougo — how do I decide?

The single decision: who’s the subject? Subject is the other person → sonkeigo. Subject is you (or your in-group) → kenjougo. For iku (“to go”), the other person → irassharu; you → mairu / ukagau. Pause for half a second before picking a verb and ask “whose action is this?” — that one habit eliminates most non-native register errors.

Should I use “itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu” in Slack?

Not internally. Inside your own company, chat etiquette skips formal openers the same way it skips subject lines and full signatures. “Otsukare-sama desu.” on a single opening line is the chat-native equivalent. For external Slack Connect (or chat-style contact with another company), use “itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu” once on the first message of the day, then drop it for the rest of the thread.

Do I need to memorize every example here?

No. In real workdays, you’ll hit only 3–5 of the 10 scenes regularly. Master “greeting / thanks / acknowledging / requesting / email opener” first — those alone cover the vast majority of keigo moments. Come back to this page for the rest as the situations come up. Pair this article with the keigo cheat sheet for fast lookup, and the keigo guide for the underlying framework.