Learn how forms like 〜ていらっしゃる, 〜てくださる, and 〜てごらん work in Japanese respectful language.

Japanese Respectful Auxiliary Verbs

~6 min read

First Things First, What Is the Auxiliary Position?

If a verb is playing a supporting role to another verb, it’s in the auxiliary position. Many verbs in this position can be easily upgraded to become respectful.

Think of a verb phrase like:

○ 食べているたべている — “(someone is) eating”

Even though it looks like one unit, it’s actually two verbs:

○ 食べるたべる — “to eat”

○ いる — “to exist” (animate existence)

Here, いる isn’t appearing by itself. It’s acting as a helper verb that adds meaning (like “ongoing action”).

So we can say:

いる is in the auxiliary position.

In the verb phrase 食べているたべている, it’s tagged on after the main verb in the auxiliary position.

Now here’s the key step:

Many common verbs that appear in this position have replacing forms. The plain verb いる is one example with its replacing form いらっしゃる.

Coming and Going with 行ってきますいってきます

○ #1: 行ってきますいってきます (“I’m off”)

○ #2: 行ってらっしゃいいってらっしゃい (“See you later”)

Most of us learnt these two phrases early on. Both of these phrases are made of two verbs:

Making sense of this coming and going can teach us a valuable lesson about replacing verbs.

#1 行ってきますいってきます

Is made from:

○ 行っていって — 行くいく“to go” (in the joining te-form)

○ きます — 来るくる “to come” (in the polite masu form) *

The nuance of this phrase is therefore “I’m going (and I’ll come back).”

Note: it is common for verbs in the auxiliary position to be written in hiragana.

#2 行ってらっしゃいいってらっしゃい

It’s made from:

○ 行っていって — 行くいく“to go” (in the joining te-form)

○ いらっしゃい — 来るくる“to come” (in the replacing form made into the command form with the first い removed.

The nuance is therefore “you’re going (and you’ll come back).” The command form of いらっしゃる is still considered polite (more on that here).

So Why Not 行ってらっしゃいますいってらっしゃいます?

The answer is simple: a speaker cannot raise themselves by referring respectfully to their own action.

If I (the speaker) am doing the action of going 行くいく and the action of coming 来るくる, neither of those verbs can be made respectful.

We can, however, refer to our own actions humbly. We can therefore say 行ってまいりますいってまいります with the humble replacing verb 参るまいる(“to come”).

Note: despite including honorifics, many set phrases are normal even in informal contexts or with close friends and family. For example, saying 行ってらっしゃいいってらっしゃい to a family member would not imply vertical distance.

Key takeaway: pay attention to the person being referred to by the main verb and the auxiliary verb. This will tell you if in one or both cases a replacing form is appropriate.

1) Motion Helpers: 〜ていく / 〜てくる

Now that we understand how replacing verbs in the auxiliary position work and when they’re appropriate, it’s time to introduce the most common auxiliary position replacing forms.

First: the two motion helpers:

○ 〜ていく

○ 〜てくる

Both can become:

○ 〜ていらっしゃる

That means context has to tell you whether the auxiliary meaning is:

○ “go” or “come”

Example:

Extra note for advanced learners:

行くいく and 来るくる also function as verbs of aspect (not just physical movement). For example:

That aspectual meaning is also picked up when いらっしゃる replaces the auxiliary.

2) Existence Helpers: 〜ている / 〜てある

Next: the existence-type helpers:

○ 〜ている

○ 〜てある

Both can become:

○ 〜ていらっしゃる

Example:

And just like before, these helpers can do multiple jobs (not just “is doing”).

We won’t cover every function here, but いらっしゃる can take over the same range of meanings you’d normally get from these existence-type helpers. For example:

○ progressive meanings: 今いま、書いているかいている。(I’m writing now.)

○ perfective meanings: もう書いているかいている。(I’ve already written it.)

○ preparatory meanings: もう書いてあるかいてある。(It’s already written and ready.)

3) Try Doing Helper: 〜てみる

Now for one of the most useful everyday auxiliaries:

○ 〜てみる — “try doing (something)”

The replacing form for 見るみる is:

○ ご覧になるごらんになる

So in the auxiliary position you get:

○ 〜てご覧になるごらんになる

Yes, it’s a mouthful.

But it’s also common.

And you’ll often hear a shortened version:

○ 〜てごらん

Example:

4) Benefit Helper: 〜てくれる

Finally, a big one — the benefit helper:

○ 〜てくれる — “(someone) does (something) for me/us”

Its auxiliary replacing form is:

○ 〜てくださる

And just like 行ってらっしゃいいってらっしゃい, this form is often used in the command form:

○ 〜てください

Example: