Hello guys!

In one of our previous lessons we talked about how だって can be used to informally quote someone, which got me thinking of all the ways people talk about what other people said, or about what they said to other people and all those complicated he-said-she-said "conversation triangles" (for lack of a better word).

Now please get dressed. What I mean is put on your tuxedo, because we're getting through the formal stuff first, getting it quickly over with and then we can change back into our comfy sweatpants and learn how to make casual conversation.

Now the magic little particle to remember for the formal stuff is:

See here, all that fancy polite language used for quotation starts with "と"

First piggy:
と言いました
と　いいました
Said that...
Literally: 'と　+ said'

Second piggy:
と仰いました
と　おっしゃいました
Said that...
Literally: 'と　+ said'

+ one extra on the sidelines:

Third piggy:
と仰った
と　おしゃった
Said that...
Literally: 'と　+ said'

The first two little piggies above have their differences but they're all on the formal side of the party.
Come third little piggy, who is also at the formal party but it's kinda wearing sneakers with his suit. You'll see what I mean soon enough.

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1. と言いました
と　いいました
[Someone else] Said that...
Literally: 'と　+ said'

So you're talking about what someone else said.

That someone is a person of equal or lower status. (let's say Bさん)
The person you're talking to is someone of higher status. (let's say Aさん)

Hang on, we need to visualize this. Here comes the "conversation triangle"

So person B is a kid with a stupid hat and completely unworthy of your respect, hence when you talk about B you go for the normal and casual verb "言う/いう/to say", and not for the polite version that is 仰る/おっしゃる/to say.

Nevertheless, you are talking to A, your one and only king or queen... First of Her Name, Queen of Meereen, Queen of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons, so you need to be respectful, hence you put the verb in the most respectful form: ～ます, giving you

と言いました for past tense.

Example time:

You and your stupid hat friend happen to get on the same elevator with the Mother of Dragons. Your friend gets so nervous and forgets how to speak human, and you offer to translate their otherworldly mumble:

友達が「サインを下さい」と言っています。
ともだち　が　「さいん　を　ください」　と　いっています。
My friend said, "Please give me your autograph".
Literally: 'Friend + が + autograph + を + please (give) + と + said'.
Note: I was planning to have this say 言いました, but that actually wouldn't work, because the speaker's friend is still present and still struggling to speak. So we use the present progressive formal tense of 言う, which is 言っています. Sorry.

So again, you talk about someone you don't particularly respect (so you refer to them using casual verbs) with someone that you respect (so you use the most polite verb endings)

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2. Come second piglet:

と仰いました
と　おっしゃいました
Said that...
Literally: 'と　+ said'

Now in this case, both the person you're talking to and the person you're talking about are deserving of your highest respect. So the triangle looks like this:

Let's say in this case that you are talking to your boss about what the doctor said:

Ｂ先生が「暫く休む必要があります」と仰いました。
Ｂせんせい　が　「しばらく　やすむ　ひつよう　が　あります」　と　おっしゃいました。
Doctor B said that "(I) need to rest for a short while."
Literally: 'B- doctor + が + "a while + rest + necessity + が + exists" + と + said.'

So you're talking about what a person you respect said →　use polite verb仰る/おっしゃる/to say
With a person that you respect → use polite verb ending to talk to the person, so add a ～ます ending, resulting in 仰います/おっしゃいます/to say

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Now let's get to our third piggy, and why I said he wears sneakers with his suit.

と仰った
と　おしゃった
Said that...
Literally: 'と + said'

One of the first things you'll notice is that this one does not end with the polite form ～ます, but with the casual form of past tense ～た. That is because you use it with people to whom you don't need to show respect. Still, you notice that the polite version of 'to say' is used here; that's because you are talkingabout someone you respect, hence the '仰る/おっしゃる'.

Let's see that triangle again:

So this is not polite language per se, because you are not talking politely to the other person, but you are using a polite word when referring to the person you're talking about.

Now let's go back to our example with our favorite badass blonde, and assume that she replied to your friend's request for the autograph. As your friend is still in shock, you offer to translate back:

「サインしてもいいよ」と仰った。
「さいん　しても　いい　よ」　と　おっしゃった。
She (her majesty) said "OK, I'll give you an autograph."
Literally: '"Autograph + make (even) + good/ok + よ" + と + said.'

So there you have it!

For those of you who are interested in the technicalities of all this, know that you have just been introduced to 尊敬語/そんけいご/Honorific language and 丁寧語/ていねいご/polite language.

The honorific language is used to show esteem to a person you respect,even if that person is not around and you're just talking about them. (But of course, also when you are talking to them face to face) . So you would always use the polite word '仰る' when referring to them or their actions.

The polite language is used when you talk directly to someone of higher status than you, i.e. someone who you need to respect. Polite language refers in our examples to the ～ます form, and it's basically used as a way to make yourself more humble in front of the conversation partner of higher status.

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Just so you know, unless you find yourself working in a Japanese-speaking environment, it is highly unlikely that you will ever need to use 尊敬語/そんけいご/Honorific language. It's simply too polite for everyday speech. In other words, it is unlikely that you'll be using words like 仰る/おっしゃる very much if ever. However, you will need to understand these words, especially if you're planning on taking the higher-level JLPT tests.

Well, I hope you didn't get too bored at our formal party. Next time we'll go to the more laid-back and casual after-party, or 二次会/にじかい, (that's what they call it in Japanese) !

Bye-bye!

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This lesson was written by Adriana, a guest contributor.