Get to know the Japanese prefixes

When introducing the Japanese respectful speech called keigo, the attention is often focused on verbs construction and the social relations between a speaker and a listener.

Most of you might know that the Japanese honorific prefixes o or go can be added to some nouns. But have you heard what is the name of what we can consider a subdivision of keigo?

 The set expressions frequently heard when in Japan are easy to remember.

–お願いします:o+negai+shimasu(please)

–お待たせしました:o+matase+shimashita(sorry for keeping you waiting)

–ご協力をお願いします: go+kyouryoku+o+negai+shimasu (we ask for your cooperation)

One important group that you can easily remember is the family vocabulary. When referring to somebody else’s family, you should care to place “o” before the noun, changing in the same time, the reading of the kanji

Do not be surprised, if you hear some Japanese saying “o-biru” (おビール, beer) or “o-toire” (おトイレ, toilet), “o-tabako” (おタバコ, tobacco).

	Your Family	Somebody’s else family
Father	Chichi – 父	Otousan – お父さん
Mother	Haha – 母	Okasan – お母さん
Older Sister	Ane – 姉	Onesan – お姉さん
Older Brother	Ani – 兄	Onisan – お兄さん

Prefixes would be quite a challenge, you will find below very common one:

Food, drink:

お菓子 (o-kashi): Sweets

お水 (o-mizu): Water

お薬 (o-kusuri): Medicine

お野菜 (o-yasai): Vegetable

お魚 (o-sakana): Fish

お卵 (o-tamago): Egg

ご飯 (go-han): Rice, Meal

お酒 (o-sake): Alcohol

Words related to a sense of belonging:

お財布 (o-saifu): Wallet

お帽子 (o-boushi): Hat

お写真 (o-shashin): Picture

お車 (o-kuruma): Car

お手紙 (o-tegami): Letter

お時間 (o-jikan): Time