Last time in Part 2, we covered how to handle basic greetings on your first day at work, what to and what not to do and how to navigate potential mistakes and misunderstandings.

This time, we’re going to delve a little deeper and talk about the different politeness levels that you’re going to encounter in the Japanese business world, so without further ado, let’s get started.

Language etiquette with regard to politeness

If you find yourself suddenly thrust into the country or into the Japanese branch of a company you’re currently working for, no one is going to expect you to speak perfect Japanese on day one.

You may even find people at the company that are capable of speaking English with fluency.

Having said that, doing your best with the language, even if imperfect, will go a long way towards helping you be accepted with open arms not only by your coworkers, but by your company as well.

We aren’t going to get into the weeds with how exactly you should go about learning the language as it seems like there are about as many options as there are people speaking the language nowadays. We do want to talk about what is likely going to be the most important thing you can employ when speaking at a company, that being:

• Keigo and formal Japanese

Keigo (敬語), or honorific language, is a crucial aspect of communication in Japanese companies. It is used to show respect to others, particularly those in higher positions or with whom you are not familiar.

While there are a few different types of keigo, we’re only really concerned with the base form. The other forms tend to be far more complex and far more situational, so they aren’t really worth talking about in an entry level piece like this.

Having said all of that, if you’re just getting started in Japanese, keigo might be a little bit of a bridge too far on your first day.

While people will appreciate it if you can delve into it, and if you can, there should be nothing stopping you from doing so, the general expectation on your first day is that you will mostly be speaking in regular old formal Japanese.

This is where the だ becomes です, おれ becomes わたし and verbs get their ます stem. To compare casual to formal to keigo, let’s look at a very basic sentence like, “I will do this.”

To say it casually, when with friends or family members, for example, you might say “Kore wo yaru” (これをやる) meaning, “I’ll do this.”

Speaking formally, you might say "Kore wo shimasu" (これをします), meaning “I will do this.”

And, with keigo, you would say, "Kore wo itashimasu" (これを致します), meaning “I will humbly do this” to show respect.

Looking at the raw English, things don’t seem too terribly different, but there is a markedly different nuance in the Japanese itself.

Having said all of that, again, the general expectation that people will have for you is that you’re going to communicate using the second option, formal Japanese.

As time passes and you get more comfortable with things, there may be times when you can slip into more casual ways of speaking with coworkers and people who are on the same general level as you, but this isn’t something you’re going to want to do on your first day, especially when talking to superiors*.

(*Everyone is your superior on your first day.)

Additionally, a common pitfall that a lot of people can fall into, and this is something you should watch out for, is mistaking someone using casual speech with you as an invite to use it yourself.

In particular, if you haven’t grown up in Japan and differentiating between casual and formal speech isn’t something you’ve done from a young age, it can be easy to autopilot a casual reply when your boss casually asks you a question.

Again, in this situation, even though he’s speaking casually to you, the general expectation is that you will, as he is your superior, speak formally to him.

But what to do if you make that mistake?

Is your job gone?

Is your career finished?

Will you be banished from the country?

While all of that could hypothetically happen, the probability of any of it occurring is terribly low. Realistically, especially if you’re still getting your feet wet with the language, you’re going to be given a surprising amount of grace.

Even if you’re no longer in that early learner stage, catching your mistake, during or after the fact, and apologizing for it with something like “Ah, shitsurei shimashita” (あ、失礼しました) meaning “Oh, pardon my rudeness” and then going on to reiterate your reply properly is going to be far more than enough to keep you from being expelled from the country.

Even on company outings, or at drinking parties (a topic we’re going to cover at a later date), it might be tempting to slip into a casual manner of speaking.

Why not? You’re no longer stuck in that stuffy office, ties and belts have been loosened, the alcohol is flowing, everyone is laughing and having a good time. What better time than to break out the casual Japanese?

But the truth of the matter is that, even in these situations, especially when talking to superiors, you’re going to want to, in so much as you are able, use formal Japanese.

Odd as it may feel given the time and place, drinking parties et al, while they may not in and of themselves be work, are still work events with coworkers (AND BOSSES) that you are going to have to work with the following day, so try to keep the alcohol from flowing so freely that it interferes with your speaking ability.

Conclusion

This all might seem like a lot to take in, especially on a first day, but the reality is that most if not all of your Japanese coworkers are going to be as, if not more, nervous than you are and they’ll all be well aware that you aren’t perfectly programmed to understand each and every Japanese cultural norm.

If you show up with a smile and a willingness to both work hard and learn, you’ll find yourself doing well at most any Japanese company.

Having said that, we’ve got a fair bit more cover in this series, so look forward to future volumes where we will cover things like general dress code, vacation, and the secrets of nommunication, also known as the secret art of connecting over drinks after a hard day’s work.

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