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おになる (oninaru)

Respectful (honorific) way of phrasing an action

Meaning & usage

お~になる elevates the actions of a superior, such as a teacher, customer, or guest, to show respect. It is formed with お plus the masu stem of a verb plus になる, as in お帰りになる or お読みになる. The になる part conjugates for tense and politeness, for example お帰りになりました. It should never describe your own actions, and many common verbs use special honorifics like いらっしゃる instead.

Example sentences 5

In past JLPT papers

This came up in 1 past exam question.

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