敬语

敬語

jìngyǔ

noun #45,888

Meanings

1 honorific language
2 polite/respectful speech forms

Characters

language; speech

Examples

HSK 6

对长辈说话要使用敬语。

Duì zhǎngbèi shuōhuà yào shǐyòng jìngyǔ.

When speaking to elders, you should use honorific language.

HSK 7-9

日语中的敬语系统非常复杂。

Rìyǔ zhōng de jìngyǔ xìtǒng fēicháng fùzá.

The honorific system in Japanese is very complex.

Tips

culture

In Chinese, honorifics survive mostly as fixed words (您 nín, 贵- guì-, 令- lìng-, 请 qǐng) rather than full grammatical conjugations. The term 敬语 is most often heard in discussions of Japanese 敬語 (keigo) or Korean speech levels.

Stroke Order

敬 jìng

语 yǔ