N4121/179

いらっしゃる

Used as the honorific form of いる/来る/行く for someone else’s actions or existence.主語に敬意を表する人を置く場面で用いる。丁寧な会話・書き言葉で使う場面が多い。

Meanings

to be (honorific)
to come (honorific)
to go (honorific)

About this pattern

Explanation

いらっしゃる is a respectful verb used to refer to someone else's existence or movement (to be, to come, to go). It replaces the plain verbs いる (to be), 来る (to come), and 行く (to go) when the subject is someone the speaker wants to show respect toward. It is common in polite conversation, business contexts, and when talking about someone of higher status. Conjugations follow the normal godan pattern for られる/らっしゃいます in different tenses, e.g., いらっしゃいます (polite present), いらっしゃいました (polite past), いらっしゃいません (polite negative). Note that the form itself carries the honorific nuance and is not used for oneself or among close peers. It often appears with the subject marked by が or は.

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