いらっしゃる (irassharu) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Be

Author Anna Baffa Volpe for article 'いらっしゃる (irassharu) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Be'

Anna Baffa Volpe

5 min reading time

Updated on 1 April 2023

いらっしゃる (irassharu) Meaning Japanese Grammar - Be

The verb いらっしゃる (irassharu) means be, come, go and is the honorific form of ()る, ()る and ()く.

It replaces these verbs in contexts where it is appropriate to use the Japanese honorific language: the Keigo.

It is also used in conjunction with the て form of another verb.

In this post we learn more about the meaning of いらっしゃる, how it is formed and when いらっしゃる is used through real example sentences.


How to form いらっしゃる

いらっしゃる is used in the sentence instead of the verbs:

  • ()be, stay, remain
  • ()come
  • ()go
Sentence+いらっしゃる

(せん)(せい)(なん)()まで(がっ)(こう)にいらっしゃいますか。

Teacher, what time will you remain at school?

How and when to use いらっしゃる

いらっしゃる belongs to the (けい)(), the Japanese honorific language, specifically to the (けい)(けい)(): the language of respect that elevates and emphasises the status of our interlocutor.

It is never used in the first person and in the context of (うち) uchi, the inside or the interior: our family members and close friends.

いらっしゃる is used in the sphere of (そと) soto, outside, that includes all people outside the intimate sphere: acquaintances, strangers towards whom it is appropriate to use a formal language.

(とう)(きょう)へはいつ(ごろ)いらっしゃるのですか?

When are you coming to Tokyo?

Plain form and Polite form

いらっしゃる is the dictionary form; the various conjugations of both the plain form and the polite form in ます are used:

  • いらっしゃる / いらっしゃいます in the present affirmative
  • いらっしゃらない / いらっしゃいません present negative
  • いらっしゃった / いらっしゃいました past affirmative
  • いらっしゃらなかった / いらっしゃいませんでした past negative

今日(きょう)はお(きゃく)さんはいらっしゃいません。

Today there are no customers.

またニューヨークにいらっしゃる()(てい)はありますか。

Do you plan to visit New York again?

Form ていらっしゃる

いらっしゃる is also used preceded by the て form and is the honorific form of ている, てある, ていく and です.

The copula だ the plain form, です the polite form and でいらっしゃる the honorific form.

(なか)()さんでいらっしゃいますか。

Are you Mr Nakata?

(せん)(せい)(にい)(がた)(しゅっ)(しん)でいらっしゃいます。

The teacher is originally from Niigata.

  • ()んでいらっしゃる in its informal version is ()んでいる

(げん)(ざい)はどちらに()んでいらっしゃいますか。

Where do you currently live?

この(けん)(かん)しては、いまだに(かんが)えていらっしゃいます。

You are still thinking about this matter.

Synonyms of いらっしゃる

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Welcome!
日本(にほん)()(あい)(さつ): Japanese greeting

いらっしゃいませ!

Welcome!

いらっしゃいませ derives from the honorific verb いらっしゃる that we are studying in this post and is commonly used by shopkeepers, restaurant staff and other public places as a form of greeting to welcome customers.

The shortened form of いらっしゃいませ is いらっしゃい and is considered less formal than いらっしゃいませ.

Example of いらっしゃる

すみません、(しゃ)(ちょう)はいらっしゃいますか。

Excuse me, is the president in?

(せん)(せい)昨日(きのう)いらっしゃった。

The teacher came yesterday.

(なん)()ごろに(へい)(しゃ)へいらっしゃいますか。

What time will you be at our company?

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