Two Words You Will Hear Constantly
You may rarely produce these, but you will hear them every time you enter a shop, hotel or station.
| Plain | Polite | Very polite |
|---|---|---|
| ある | あります | ございます |
| だ | です | でございます |
- お手洗いは２階にございます。(The restrooms are on the second floor.)
- こちらが新しいモデルでございます。(This is the new model.)
Not for People
ございます replaces ある, so it covers objects, facts and existence — never people. For people, use いらっしゃいます from 尊敬語:
- ○ 田中様はいらっしゃいますか。(Is Mr Tanaka in?)
- × 田中様はございますか。
That mistake is jarring, because it treats a person as a thing.
Set Phrases You Already Know
Several everyday expressions are ございます underneath:
- ありがとうございます — literally "it is a rare thing"
- おはようございます — from お早い
- 申し訳ございません — I'm terribly sorry
Once you notice the pattern, the polite register stops looking arbitrary.
Where You'll Meet It
Almost always staff to customer, in one direction:
- いらっしゃいませ。(Welcome.)
- 千円でございます。(That'll be 1,000 yen.)
- 少々お待ちくださいませ。(One moment, please.)
Using it back at staff is unnecessary — です and あります are perfectly polite from a customer.