#keigo
JLPT N3 Lesson 8: Workplace and Formal Japanese
Overview Workplace Japanese is one of the most practically important domains at the N3 level. Even if you never plan to work in Japan, N3 reading passages frequently feature formal business communication: emails, meeting notes, reports, and phone call exchanges. More importantly, the grammar patterns of workplace Japanese—particularly polite request forms and the basics of keigo (敬語, honorific speech)—serve as a gateway to the full N2 and N1 honorific system....
JLPT N3 Lesson 1: Formal vs. Informal Register
Overview One of the defining challenges of JLPT N3 is that you can no longer rely on a single register. At N5 and N4, you learned polite desu/masu speech as your primary mode. At N3, you must actively navigate a multi-layered system: the same thought can be expressed in at least three different registers—casual ( kudaketa ), standard polite ( teineigo ), and formal/written ( kōgo ). The distance between...