お~になる
Meanings
- to do (honorific)
- to perform an action with honorific form
- to become the one who does the action (honorific)
About this pattern
Explanation
The expression お~になる is an honorific form used to talk about someone else’s actions in a polite, respectful way. It attaches the respectful prefix お- to the stem of a verb, followed by になる. It is used when referring to the actions of someone of higher status or to show politeness to the listener. The stem used is typically the masu-stem of the verb (the form before ます). This pattern is common in formal contexts such as business conversations, when speaking about superiors, clients, or customers. Note that not all verbs have a natural or common honorific with お-; use established equivalents like お書きになる, お作りになる, お調べになる, etc. This form does not indicate the speaker’s own action; it attributes the action to someone else in a respectful way.
Learn in context
Example sentences
The department head wrote this proposal (honorific).
The teacher is preparing that report (honorific).
She is looking into the contents of the new book (honorific).
The customer discussed this matter (honorific).
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