The Polite Form of 大丈夫 in Japanese

The polite form of 「大丈夫」 in Japanese

「大丈夫」(Daijoubu) is a word everyone in the country knows
But do you know its “HONORIFIC” form?
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In everyday life, when asked 「大丈夫ですか？」we usually answer 「大丈夫です」.

At work, however, using「大丈夫」is NG (No Good)! With a superior this phrase is not appropriate. In that case we need to use the proper honorific form.

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Let's look at how「大丈夫」changes into honorific forms:

The first case for using「大丈夫」in honorific form is when you want to convey some information to the other person.
For example, when you get an email from a business partner giving the date and time of a dinner, if you want to reply that the time suits you, 「大丈夫です」would not be appropriate.

So naturally phrases like「OKです」or 「了解しました」cannot be used either.

In this case, to say “this plan raises no problem on our side”, we write in the email as follows:

【宛先】A社の林様
Recipient: Mr Hayashi of Company A

【件名】Re:会食日程について
Subject: Re: About the schedule for the dinner

【本文】林様　いつもお世話になっております。○○株式会社第一営業部の木村です。会食の日程についてのご提案誠にありがとうございます。こちらはその日程で問題ございません。○月○日13時に洋食レストラン△△ですね。承知いたしました。それではよろしくお願い致します。

Body: Dear Mr Hayashi. Thank you for your continued support. I am Kimura of Sales Department 1, ○○ Corporation. Thank you very much for the schedule you proposed for the dinner. It raises no problem at all on our side. The time and place are 13:00 on ○ ○ at the European restaurant △△, is that right? Thank you very much, and I look forward to your continued assistance.

Don't write「大丈夫です」→ Write「問題ございません」
Don't write「了解しました」or「OKです」→ Write「承知いたしました」

In short, keep in mind:
– Don't use「大丈夫です」
→ Use「問題ございません」

– Don't use「了解しました」or「OKです」
→ Use「承知いたしました」

– Never use「結構です」with a superior.
Although 「結構です」also has a positive sense and can be used as an honorific, in principle someone senior may use it with someone junior but not the other way round.

Likewise 「構いません」means “it doesn't matter either way”, but it is a phrase spoken from above looking down, and is not suitable for a boss or a superior. You can use it in a friendly way with a colleague or a senior you are close to. The correct form is「問題ございません」.

What do you think?
Being able to use 「大丈夫」 well is a very good thing.
– But with a superior, turn it into 「問題ございません」.

– With a colleague or a senior, if you want to sound a little softer, you can say 「はい、大丈夫です。よろしくお願いします」.

Do try these out the next time you need “Daijoubu” at work. You will certainly look better in the eyes of your boss and your business partners.

Thanks to fb.com/profile.php?id=100051480061956 for sharing.
We hope this material suits you as a learner of Japanese
Good luck with your studies and your exam.