Why are "O" and "GO" used before some Japanese words? - Bikago

You've probably come across Japanese words that start with "o-お" like okane, ocha, ogenki or ending with "go - ご" like goyukkuri.

But have you ever wondered why the Japanese use these honorifics before some words? When do they use each one? In what words to use? In this article, we will clear all these doubts.

the name of these honorary it's called bikago (美化語) which means language of beautification. As the name implies, these honorifics are used to embellish words, it is used to express respect and courtesy, making speech more refined sounding, raising the voice for a polite style.

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お vs ご

The honorific お(o) is added to words regardless of origin. Even words of foreign origin like ズボン can be prepended with お.お can be used as a noun, adjective or adverb. The honorific ご is used in few words, and only words of Chinese origin.

But don't be confident and try to use these honorifics in any words. Listen carefully to the natives, learn enough vocabulary, that you will know which words to use the honorific.

Bikago 美化語

Bikago is not just the use of お or ご but there are other honorifics which are: み-, おみ- and おんみ (mi-, omi-, onmi-) but they are only used in words with religious or imperial importance. As in the case of the word 子 (ko – Child) when adding the honorific み = み子 means “son of god”. I don't think it's a coincidence that the priestesses are called Miko (巫女).

Some words are almost or always accompanied with honorific prefixes. To know if a word is always used with honorific, try to find it in the dictionary without the honorific, some words change completely without using it.

In some words the use of the honorific can completely change the meaning of the word, or the pronunciation of it with honorific:

Word Meaning Word with Bikago Meaning
八つ (hatsu) Eight お八つ(Oyatsu) Afternoon tea
飯 (hashi) Rice ご飯 (gohan) Snack
主人 (shujin) Householder ご主人 someone's husband
家族 (kazoku) Family ご家族 someone's family
釣り (tsuri) Fishing お釣り Exchange money, change
絞る (shiboru) twist, squeeze お絞る Hand towel
汁(shiru) soup, juice お汁 (otsuyu) broth, sauce
腹 (hara) Stomach お腹 (Onaka) Stomach
化け illegible, transform お化け ghost, monster

In other cases, the words are similar or have the same meaning but are spelled differently when using the honorific:

 水⇒ お冷  ice water
 うまい ⇒ おいしい  yummy, delicious
 便所 ⇒ お手洗い  Bathroom

Examples

There are many words that use honorifics, we will leave more examples below, and some phrases so that you can study more deeply the bikago that is of great importance in the Japanese language.

Japanese  Meaning Japanese Meaning 
お名前 (Onamae) Your name ごゆっくり (Goyukkuri) Relax, Tranquility
お茶 (Ocha) Tea  お世辞 (Oseji) Flatter, praise
お元気 (Ogenki) How are you? お金 (Okane) Money
お庭 (Oniwa) Garden  お天気 (Otenki) Weather
 お飲み物 (Onomimono) Drinks  お菓子 (Okashi) Sweets
 お食事 (Oshokuji) Snack  お店 (Omise0 Shops
 お料理 (Oryōri) cooking / dishes  ご祝儀 (Goshukugi) Congratulatory Award
 ご機嫌 (Gokigen) Humor  ご挨拶 (Goaisatsu) Greetings
 ご結婚 (Gokekkon) Marriage  ご連絡 (Gorenraku) Contact

It's important to remember again that words won't always use honorifics, and that you shouldn't use them in every word, and that honorifics can completely change the meaning of words.

Here's an example of a sentence where the word is spoken with and without the honorific:

O-namae wa nan desu ka.
お名前はなんですか.
What is your name?
Watashi no namae wa Miki desu.
私の名前は美樹です.
My name is Miki.

Below is an example of the honorific お being used in a noun, adjective and adverb:

Substantive O-tanjoubi Omedetou.
お誕生日おめでとう。
Happy birthday.
Substantive O mizu o nonde kudasai.
お水を飲んでください。
Please drink your water.
Adjective O-genki desu ka.
お元気ですか。
How are you?
Adverb Douzo go-yukkuri.
どうぞごゆっくり。
Take your time.
Substantive O-naka ga itai.
お腹が痛い。
My belly (stomach) hurts.

Did you like the article? Share with the friends! Do you know any other words that have the honorific? Bikago? Leave your comment. Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoy it. Some example sentences are sourced: imabi, japanese.about.

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