Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 7: 17/18

致(いた)す

To do (Humble)

It is more humble than お〜する

Structure

する ￫ いたす
お + Verb［ます］+ いたす
ご(1) + ［する］ Verb + いたす

(1) お, limited to ［する］Verbs like: 電話(でんわ)する、勉強(べんきょう)する、散歩(さんぽ)する

Details

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About いたす

いたす, or 致(いた)す as it is often written, is a humble speech う-Verb, which refers to the actions of the speaker (or people within the speakers inner circle, like their company). Similarly to お〜する, いたす means 'to do'.
In the case of する verbs themselves, simply replace する with いたす. For other verbs, add いたす to the ます stem of the verb, while attaching お, or ご to the beginning (depending on whether it is a word of Japanese or Chinese origin).
  • 私(わたし)たちが用意(ようい)いたします。
    We will do the preparation.
  • コートはこちらでお預(あず)かりいたします。
    We will look after your coats here.
  • こちらからご連絡(れんらく)いたします。
    We will contact you.
Caution
Words that include the kanji 拝(はい) 'to worship', or 'to revere', do not usually require お, ご, or いたす. This is due to the word itself being 'respectful'.
  • 私(わたし)は親戚(しんせき)のお寺(てら)を拝観(はいけん)する。
    I will look at my relatives' temple. (With utmost respect)
  • 先輩(せんぱい)からお金(かね)を拝借(はいしゃく)する。
    I will borrow money from my senpai. (With utmost respect)
Fun Fact
いたす is considered to be slightly more humble than お〜する, which means that it will be heard more frequently in advertisements, or being used by company employees.

Examples

  • ご案内(あんない)いたします。

    I will guide you.

  • 駅(えき)の前(まえ)でお待(ま)ちいたします。

    I will wait in front of the station.

  • やる気(き)のある方(かた)を、店員(てんいん)として募集(ぼしゅう)いたします。

    We are recruiting motivated people for a position of sales clerk!

    The lack of ご here is because this is one of the exceptions to memorize.

  • 品物(しなもの)は明日(あした)お送(おく)りいたします。

    We will send the merchandise tomorrow.

  • お荷物(にもつ)をお持(も)ちいたしましょうか？

    Shall I take your baggage?

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      Page 158 & 159

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    • Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide

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    • Genki II 2nd Edition

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いたす – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (34 in total)

  • bokudake

    bokudake

    100% agree
    The explanation is not complete on the grammar page.

    Is this the only humble/respectful form that can be used in such a situation when talking about things instead of people? My first instinct was to try なさる which is used for actions of other people. If it’s used when speaking about actions of other people I thought it might work for things as well, but my guess was wrong.

  • Asher

    Asher

    We usually try to keep the JLPT explanations limited to things that will actually be tested on, but I agree that this is an interesting topic.

    @nekoyama , thanks for supplying the extra info! I am going through another article right now as well and will probably add a relatively short Fun-fact to the いたす grammar point. This is the kinda thing that would be great to be able to do as a blog type post, as the general concept applies to quite a few grammar points, rather than just いたす.

    I might see if there is something we can do with the new ‘decks’ setup, where we have grammar lessons divided into groups with more in depth explanations, like a 敬語 group ...

  • bokudake

    bokudake

    I think the idea is that a lesson (or the preceding lessons) should contain enough information for the user to be able solve all the exercises of a grammar point without leaving any rules uncovered, without having to consult extra resources or discussion.
    While extra resources should help you expand and clarify your understanding.

    Essentially the problem I see is that the example doesn’t match the explanation: either the explanation is incomplete or the example is inappropriate.

    I can think of a few ways to deal with the situation:

    1. Replace that example and leave that aspect of いたす (temporarily) uncovered.
    2. Create a new lesson that covers that aspect of いたす separately (like we have different lessons for some other grammar points).
    3. Expand the explanation of the existing lesson.

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