Learn how rare honorific adjectives and adverbs work in Japanese, with practical examples like ごゆっくりどうぞ and お忙しいところすみませんが.

Respectful Adjectives and Adverbs in Japanese

~4 min read

Respectful Adjectives and Adverbs

Compared with nouns, respectful forms for adjectives and adverbs are much more limited — but they do exist.

Just like nouns, they usually take an honorific prefix:

○ お- for wago

○ ご- for kango

That said, there are a few exceptions.

For example:

○ お元気おげんき (“in good health / well”) is a kango adjective that takes お

○ ごもっともごもっとも (“quite right / most reasonable”) is a wago adverb that takes ご

Respectful Adverbs Are Rare

Respectful adverbs are especially uncommon. One of the few you are likely to hear is:

○ ごゆっくりごゆっくり (goyukkuri, “slowly”)

A very common phrase is:

○ ごゆっくりどうぞごゆっくりどうぞ

“Please take your time.”

You will often hear this in restaurant settings, where it carries the feeling of “please relax and enjoy your food or drink.”

Why These Forms Matter

Honorific adjectives and adverbs are not common, and that is exactly what makes them interesting.

Because they are used so selectively, they tend to stand out. Depending on the tone and context, they can suggest:

○ refinement

○ formality

○ sarcasm (sometimes)

For example:

○ ご立派ごりっぱな考えかんがえですね

Depending on how it is said, this could mean either:

○ an enthusiastic “That’s a great idea!”

○ or a sarcastic “Well, aren’t you clever.” (like saying, “Hey, Einstein over here.”)

A Very Common Respectful Adjective Expression

One expression you will hear all the time in workplaces is:

○ お忙しいおいそがしいところすみませんが…

This means:

○ “Sorry for bothering you while you’re busy…”

It is a classic example of cushion words—language used to soften an interruption or request.

Adjectival Auxiliaries

In Japanese, some adjectives attach to verbs as auxiliaries. These auxiliaries can also attach to the adding-form honorific (お + 使い + に + なる).

When you use them with honorific language, the important rule is:

Make the verb honorific first, then add the auxiliary.

Two common examples are:

○ やすいやすい (“easy to do”)

○ にくいにくい (“hard to do”)

Example: 使いやすいつかいやすい

○ 使いやすいつかいやすい P^-1

“easy to use”

Honorific version:

○ お使いになりやすいおつかいになりやすい P⁺¹

Example: 使いにくいつかいにくい

○ 使いにくいつかいにくい P^-1

“hard to use”

Honorific version:

○ お使いになりにくいおつかいになりにくい P⁺¹

Important

The following are not correct:

✗ お使いやすい

✗ お使いにくい

Key takeaway: the auxiliary must come after the full honorific verb form, not directly after the verb stem.