🤝 Workplace Know-How
Keigo for Work — The 20 Phrases That Are All You Really Need
It doesn't have to be perfect. Master the "templates" that keep you from being rude
📖 7 min read📅 2026-08-10
When I replied "Got it!" to my boss, the mood seemed to shift a little.
Riska (25), from Bandung, Indonesia, had studied Japanese up to N2 at a Japanese language school and was confident in her Japanese. But once she started working, what she realized was that "grammatically correct Japanese" and "Japanese that isn't rude at work" are a little different.
Asked to do a task by the department head — "Got it!" Asked a question by a senior — "I don't know." To a customer — "Wait a minute." None of these are grammatically wrong. The meaning gets across. And yet, somehow, the other person's expression would cloud for a moment.
One day, a kind senior gently told her: "Riska, your Japanese is great. If you just add a 'keigo cushion' on top, you'll come across even better."
A keigo cushion — that phrase made it click for Riska. The problem wasn't her Japanese ability; it was simply that the "one phrase that shows respect for the other person" was missing.
Perfect keigo is hard even for Japanese people. You don't need to fully master honorific and humble speech. But if you learn just 20 commonly used "templates," you can avoid coming across as rude. Try using the phrases below, little by little, starting today.
Keigo is "consideration for the other person, put into the form of words." Don't overthink it — first, learn the phrases below as "templates," just as they are. They're laid out alongside the things to avoid, so learning them as "avoid this / use this" makes them stick more easily.
01.When receiving instructions: "Got it" → "Shochi shimashita / Kashikomarimashita"
"Ryokai desu" (Got it) is fine between colleagues, but it's a little too casual for a boss or a customer. **"Shochi shimashita" or "Kashikomarimashita"** is polite. Using these two in emails is safe as well. "Shochi itashimashita" is even more polite. When you're asked to do a task, make it a habit to return this phrase first.
02.When you can't answer a question: "I don't know" → "Moshiwake gozaimasen, kakunin itashimasu (I'm sorry, I'll check)"
"Shiranai desu" (I don't know) or "Wakaranai desu" gives a cold, dismissive impression. Saying **"Moshiwake gozaimasen, kakunin shite orikaeshimasu (I'm sorry, I'll check and get back to you)" or "Sugu ni kakunin itashimasu (I'll check right away)"** comes across as sincere. In Japanese workplaces, not knowing something isn't itself the problem — what's watched is "how you respond." "I'll check" is the strongest phrase there is.
03.When asking someone to wait: "Hang on a sec" → "Shosho omachi kudasai"
"Chotto matte kudasai (Hang on a sec)" to a customer or a boss is too casual. **"Shosho omachi kudasai" or "Shosho omachi itadakemasu ka"** is polite. You also use it frequently when answering the phone. Going further with "Moshiwake gozaimasen ga, shosho omachi itadakemasu deshou ka" makes it perfect.
04.When expressing thanks: "Thanks" → "Arigato gozaimasu / Tasukarimashita (That helped)"
Just "Arigato" (thanks) is a friend's tone. At work, always **"Arigato gozaimasu."** When someone does something for you, adding "Arigato gozaimasu, tasukarimashita (Thank you, that helped)" leaves a warm impression. For something in the past, put it in the past form: "Senjitsu wa arigato gozaimashita (Thank you for the other day)." Expressing gratitude generously is the knack for being liked in a Japanese workplace.
05.When making a request: "Please do ~" → "Could you ~ (~ shite itadakemasu ka)"
"~ shite kudasai (Please do ~)" can sound like a command. Turning it into a question — **"~ shite itadakemasu ka (Could you ~)" or "~ o onegai dekimasu ka (May I ask you to ~)"** — softens it considerably. Adding "sumimasen" at the start, as in "Sumimasen, kore o kakunin shite itadakemasu ka (Sorry, could you check this?)," makes it even more polite. Being able to use this with colleagues too smooths your relationships.
06.When refusing or saying you can't: "That's impossible" → "Moshiwake gozaimasen ga, muzukashii desu (I'm sorry, but it would be difficult)"
"Muri desu (That's impossible)" or "Dekimasen (I can't)" gives too strong an impression. Placing a cushion phrase (Moshiwake gozaimasen ga / Osore irimasu ga) in front, as in **"Moshiwake gozaimasen ga, ◯◯ no tame muzukashii desu (I'm sorry, but because of ◯◯ it would be difficult)"** keeps it from sounding harsh. Adding one reason makes it easier to accept. This template also works when declining overtime.
07.When leaving work or stepping away: "I'm going home" → "Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu"
When leaving for the day, **"Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu (Excuse me for leaving ahead of you)"**; when stepping away from your seat, "Sukoshi seki o hazushimasu (I'll step away for a bit)." Conversely, to someone leaving before you or someone who has finished their work, you return "Otsukaresama desu / Otsukaresama deshita." Be careful: "Gokuro-sama" is not used toward those senior to you (it's a phrase a boss uses toward subordinates). These two greetings are the most basic of basics, used every single day.
Riska started with "Shochi shimashita," "Kakunin itashimasu," and "Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu." She didn't aim for perfect keigo — she just learned the templates she uses most. Three months later, the department head told her, "Riska, you're so polite." "It was the one phrase that shows respect, more than the grammar," she told us. You don't have to make your keigo perfect all at once. One today, one tomorrow is plenty. If your workplace has a Japanese-language training program, make active use of it.
