The keigo level checker helps learners and writers see which honorific register a piece of Japanese is using. Japanese politeness, or keigo (敬語), is built from three layers that signal social distance and respect. Mixing them correctly is one of the hardest parts of business and formal Japanese, so seeing each word labelled makes the structure of a sentence much clearer.
How it works
The tool scans your text against a curated lexicon of common keigo vocabulary. Each entry is tagged with one of three registers. Sonkeigo (尊敬語) raises the status of the listener or subject — for example 召し上がる instead of 食べる, or いらっしゃる instead of 行く. Kenjogo (謙譲語) lowers the speaker to show deference — for example 参る for go, 申す for say, or 拝見する for look. Teineigo (丁寧語) is neutral politeness expressed through the です copula, the ます verb ending, and very-polite ございます. Matching is longest-first, so a fully conjugated polite form such as 召し上がります is recognised ahead of its dictionary form.
Common keigo pairs to know
The most commonly tested keigo substitutions pair a plain verb with its sonkeigo and kenjogo equivalents:
| Plain | Sonkeigo (raise the subject) | Kenjogo (lower the speaker) |
|---|---|---|
| いる (to be) | いらっしゃる | おる |
| 行く (to go) | いらっしゃる / おいでになる | 参る (まいる) |
| 来る (to come) | いらっしゃる / おいでになる | 参る (まいる) |
| 言う (to say) | おっしゃる | 申す (もうす) |
| 食べる / 飲む | 召し上がる | いただく |
| する (to do) | なさる | いたす |
| もらう (to receive) | — | いただく |
| あげる (to give) | — | 差し上げる (さしあげる) |
| くれる (to give me) | くださる | — |
| 知っている (to know) | ご存知 (ごぞんじ) | 存じる (ぞんじる) |
| 見る (to see) | ご覧になる | 拝見する (はいけんする) |
The classic contrast: a worked example
Take the sentence 先生はもう召し上がりましたか。私は明日参ります。 — “Has the teacher already eaten? I will come tomorrow.” The tool flags 召し上がります as sonkeigo applied to the teacher, and 参ります as kenjogo applied to the speaker. Using kenjogo for the teacher or sonkeigo for yourself would reverse the respect direction and sound strange or rude.
Where keigo matters most
Keigo is essential in business emails, customer service, job interviews, and any interaction with someone of higher social standing. Business email etiquette tends to lean heavily on kenjogo for the writer’s actions and sonkeigo for the recipient’s. Because Japanese has productive honorific patterns beyond fixed verbs — such as お/ご + noun or verb-stem + になる — this tool focuses on the irregular lexical forms that require deliberate memorisation. Everything runs locally in your browser.