致す

Japanese

Kanji in this term
致
いた
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

In modern Japanese, this word is generally written in hiragana, with the kanji spelling used in more formal writing.

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Derived as the transitive/causative counterpart to intransitive verb 至る (itaru, “to come; to go; to reach a point in time or space; to result in”),[1] originally meaning the same as causative conjugation 至らせる (itaraseru, “to make something or someone come or go; to make something reach a point in time or space; to cause a certain result”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

Verb

致す (transitive, godan conjugation, hiragana いたす, rōmaji itasu)

  1. (humble) to do: the humble version of 為る (suru)

Usage notes

When speaking in formal situations, いたす is used in place of する by the speaker in deference to the listener. This is part of the subset of Japanese formal language (敬語 (keigo)) referred to as "humble" language (謙譲語 (kenjōgo)). This word has also found its way into certain common expressions, such as どういたしまして (dō itashimashite, “it's all right; you're welcome”).

Conjugation

References

  1. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.