Honorific prefixお　・　ご

• The beautifying prefixes

お〜 and ご〜 are commonly used for certain words, such as お湯 (o-yu) and お茶 (o-cha) – hot water and tea。

• The bikago (beautifying) prefixes o- and go- (both written 御 , or in hiragana) are honorific prefixes which are applied to nouns and in some contexts to verbs.

• In general, go- precedes Sino-Japanese words (that is, words borrowed from Chinese), while o- precedes native Japanese words.

• These prefixes are used for two purposes: 1. to speak respectfully about a social superior's family, or actions (sonkeigo)

• 2. or to speak in a generally refined or polite way (keigo).

•おなまえ•おげんき•おちゃ•おゆ•おすし•お金

• ごりょうしん• ごはん• ごちゅうもん• ごしょうかい• ごちゅうい

• ごちゅうもんは。

• おのみものは。

• These prefixes are essentially untranslatable, but their use indicates a polite respect for the item named or the person to or about whom one is speaking. A shorter translation is "dear" – for example, o-ko-san, お子さん , translates idiomatically as "your dear child" – and a similar sentiment is expressed in such English expressions as "Would you like a spot of tea?" or "Would you like a little tea?" (as opposed to the plain "Would you like some tea?").

• As with honorific word forms and titles, honorific prefixes are used when referring to or speaking with a social superior, but not usually when referring to oneself or one's own actions or possessions, or those of one's in-group.

• For example, when referring to one's own order at a restaurant, one would use chūmon, but when referring to a customer's order, the restaurant staff would use go-chūmon. Similarly, kazoku means "my family," while go-kazoku means "your family" (or, broadly speaking, someone else's family).

• There are some words which frequently or always take these prefixes, regardless of who is speaking and to whom; these are often ordinary items which may have particular cultural significance, such as tea (o-cha) and rice (go-han).

• In tea ceremony, common ingredients and equipment always take the honorific o- or go-, including water (o-mizu), hot water (o-yu), and tea bowls (o-chawan). However, these terms are often heard in daily life as well.