This note covers Keigo Notes #11–#13: teineigo (丁寧語) as the politeness floor, kenjō II / teichō (謙譲語Ⅱ・丁重語) when you need composure toward the listener, and the classic mix-up between 伺う and 参る. Examples are live API rewrites.
Teineigo: です・ます is already polite
Natural Japanese
確認します。
確認します。 already uses teineigo toward the addressee. For a short Slack or chat reply, this is often the right weight — not “not polite enough.”
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Standard style (live API).
Input
Got it. I will check and reply later today.
Natural Japanese
承知いたしました。確認の上、本日中に返信いたします。
Polite, but not a keigo cathedral — no ご返信申し上げます. For chat-speed replies, this Business weight is usually enough; stacking 申し上げる on every one-liner adds mass, not respect.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: colleague (live API).
Guideline takeaway: teineigo is politeness toward the person you are speaking or writing to. It does not by itself elevate a third party. More お・ご・申し上げる is not automatically more respectful.
Kenjō II / teichō: careful tone to the listener
Kenjō II (丁重語) makes your own action sound composed to the listener — even when the action is not “for” a specific elevated person. 参る, 申す, いたす belong here. Use them for formality of speech, not as a switch that elevates every noun.
Natural Japanese
資料を申し送りいたします。
申し送りいたします adds いたす — a kenjō II / teichō touch for a composed handoff to a colleague, without pretending the documents themselves are elevated.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: colleague (live API).
伺う vs 参る — both “humble go,” different jobs
Input
I will visit Professor Tanaka tomorrow.
Natural Japanese
明日、田中教授のもとへ伺います。
伺う = kenjō I: your going is aimed at an elevated person / their place. Toward Tanaka, 伺います is the clean choice.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: client (live API).
Input
Tomorrow I will go to the station.
Natural Japanese
明日、駅へ参ります。
A station is not an elevated person. 参る = kenjō II / teichō: formality toward the listener or scene. Forcing 「駅に伺います」 often blurs who you meant to elevate — empty self-lowering.
Rewritten with Tadashii Kotoba — Business style, recipient: colleague (live API).
Talking to Teacher A about visiting Teacher B: 「田中先生のところに参ります」 can blur who you meant to elevate. Toward Tanaka, you often want 伺います. Same verb family, different wiring — exactly why the 2007 guideline splits kenjō into I and II.
How to choose in one line
Short chat / light ask → teineigo floor (です・ます) is often enough. Need composure toward the listener, no clear elevated “toward” → kenjō II (参る, いたす…). Action aimed at a specific elevated person → kenjō I (伺う, 申し上げる…). Stacking all three layers on every sentence is how Slack starts sounding like a petition.