お~になる Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Phrase
Essential Meaning: Describes someone’s actions respectfully
Construction:
- お + Verb ます-Form + になる
- E.g. お話しになる [X speaks]
- E.g. お教えになる [X teaches]
Notes:
- The お~になる construction is used to describes someone’s action or state with respect when the speaker respects the subject or when social norms require that the speaker use honorific language. The politeness is conveyed by the honorific お prefix and the indirect verb なる [To become]. In Japanese, indirectness indicates honorific-ness.
- E.g. 田中先生はもうお帰りになった。[Tanaka-sensei already went home.] The usage of the お~になる construction clearly indicates the speaker’s respect for Tanaka-sensei.
- Certain verbs have their own special honorific forms. For example, the honorific form of いる (Animate Being), 行く, and 来る is いらっしゃる and the special formal form of する is なさる. So when speaking honorifically, する verbs follow the structure お / ご~なさる rather than お~になる. Because most する verbs are Chinese in origin, they are typically formed as ご~なする rather than お~なさる. However, some notable exceptions include お電話なさる [To call], お勉強なさる [To study], お料理なさる [To cook], お洗濯なさる [To do the laundry], お掃除なさる [To clean], and お散歩なさる [To stroll / To go for a walk].
- E.g. 小山先生は四月にご結婚なさいます。[Koyama-sensei will get married in April.]
- E.g. 森本さんにお電話なさいましたか。 [Did you call Morimoto-san?]
- Politeness can also be conveyed through the passive voice, however this construction is less honorific than お~になる.
- E.g. 田中先生はもう帰られましたか。[Has Tanaka-sensei already left?]
- E.g. この本をもう読まれましたか。[Have you already read this book?]
Example Sentences:
田中先生はもうお帰りになった。[Tanaka-sensei already went home.]
この本をもう読まれましたか。[Have you already read this book?]
グッドマン先生は私の名前をお忘れになった。[Goodman-sensei forgot my name.]
WILD Examples:
***YouTube videos may be region-locked depending on your country of origin. If you experience issues, please try using a VPN set to a United States IP address.***