special honorific verbs

Some common verbs have dedicated honorific replacements: いる/行く/来る become いらっしゃる, 食べる/飲む become 召し上がる, 言う becomes おっしゃる, and 見る becomes ご覧になる. These are used about respected people's actions, never your own. They conjugate slightly irregularly: いらっしゃいます, おっしゃいます.

Examples

• 先生せんせいは教室きょうしつにいらっしゃいます。

  Sensei wa kyoushitsu ni irasshaimasu.

  The teacher is in the classroom.

• 何なんを召めし上あがりますか。

  Nani o meshiagarimasu ka.

  What will you have to eat?

Vocabulary in these examples

• 先生 teacher
• 教室 classroom
• いらっしゃる to be, to come, to go (honorific)
• 何 what
• 召し上がる to eat, to drink (honorific)

Related patterns · Keigo basics

• お〜になる honorific: someone (respected) does
• お〜する / ご〜する humble: I do (for you)
• 特別な謙譲語（いたす・参る等） special humble verbs
• 〜させていただく humbly receive permission to do