いらっしゃるirassharu“honorific be, come, or go”

いらっしゃる is the honorific (尊敬語, sonkeigo) verb that replaces いる, 来る and 行く when the person who is there, comes or goes deserves respect. 先生は教室にいらっしゃいます — “The teacher is in the classroom.” The sentence says nothing more than 先生は教室にいます; it simply raises the teacher, the subject of the verb.

That is the one rule to keep in mind: いらっしゃる always honours the person doing the being, coming or going. You never use it for yourself, and you don’t use it for your own family or colleagues when talking to outsiders.

いらっしゃる lifts the subject. If the subject is you, it’s wrong — however polite you want to be.

What does いらっしゃる mean?

One verb covers three plain verbs. Context tells you which one is meant:

• いる (be): 部長は会議室にいらっしゃいます — The manager is in the meeting room.
• 来る (come): 先生は三時にいらっしゃいます — The teacher will come at three.
• 行く (go): 明日はどちらへいらっしゃいますか — Where are you going tomorrow?

Look at the particles and time words to decide. A place with に plus “now” usually means “is there.” A time plus もう or a destination with へ points to coming or going. If a sentence is truly ambiguous, Japanese speakers don’t mind: the respect is the point, not the direction.

いらっしゃる belongs to sonkeigo, the honorific half of keigo. Sonkeigo raises the subject. Its mirror image is kenjōgo (humble language), which lowers the speaker. In the same situations, you use おる for your own “being” and 参る for your own “coming” and “going.”

How to form いらっしゃる

いらっしゃる is one of five special honorific verbs (with なさる, くださる, おっしゃる and ござる) whose ます-form is irregular: the る becomes い, not り.

The imperative いらっしゃい is where the shop greeting いらっしゃいませ comes from: literally a very polite “please come in.” Staff say it to every customer, and customers do not answer it.

いらっしゃる also replaces the いる in 〜ている: 先生は本を読んでいらっしゃいます — “The teacher is reading a book.” If you already know ている, you can make any ongoing action honorific this way.

When is いらっしゃる used?

• Talking about teachers, bosses, customers and older strangers. Wherever you would add さん or 様 to the person, their いる／来る／行く becomes いらっしゃる.
• Asking whether someone is in. On the phone or at a reception desk: 山田先生はいらっしゃいますか — “Is Professor Yamada available?”
• Asking a respected listener about their plans. 夏休みはどこかへいらっしゃいますか — “Are you going anywhere for the summer holidays?” Here the listener is the subject, so you raise the listener.
• Customer service. Shops, hotels and restaurants use it constantly: いらっしゃいませ, お客様がいらっしゃいました.

Who gets raised? Only people outside your in-group, or above you within it when you talk inside the group. At work, you say 部長がいらっしゃいました to a colleague. When a client phones, the same 部長 becomes part of “your side,” so you switch to humble language: 田中はただいまおりません. Your own family is treated the same way: to a teacher, your mother 母が参ります, not お母さんがいらっしゃいます.

いらっしゃる example sentences

In every example the subject is someone other than the speaker: the teacher, the president, the listener, the customer. That is not a coincidence; it is the rule.

Nuance of いらっしゃる

いらっしゃる is respectful but not stiff. Students use it about their teachers, office workers about their managers, and neighbours about each other’s elderly parents.

The spoken te-form いらして (いらしてください, いらしたんですか) is very common in conversation and friendly service language. It is a contraction of いらっしゃって and carries the same level of respect.

💡 Before you say it, ask “who is the subject?” Someone you respect → いらっしゃる. You or your side → おる／参る (humble) or plain います／行きます.

A lighter honorific, 来られる／行かれる, also exists and is common in news and business writing. In conversation, いらっしゃる sounds warmer and is the form you should learn to use first.

いらっしゃる vs 参る and おる

The pair learners confuse is honorific いらっしゃる and the humble verbs 参る (まいる, go/come) and おる (be). All three replace いる／来る／行く, but they point in opposite directions.

A good way to remember it: いらっしゃる and 参る answer each other. A shop assistant asks どちらからいらっしゃいましたか (Where have you come from?) and you answer 東京から参りました. The same pairing works for other verbs: お〜になる and なさる raise the subject, while いたします lowers the speaker.

Common mistakes with いらっしゃる

Is いらっしゃる on the JLPT?

Grammar questions typically give a short dialogue and ask you to fill the gap with いらっしゃる, 参る, おる or 伺う. Find the subject of the verb first: if it is the listener or a teacher, choose いらっしゃる; if it is 私 or someone from 私’s company, choose the humble verb. In listening, いらっしゃいますか on the phone almost always means “Is … there?”

Practice questions for いらっしゃる

Learning path for いらっしゃる

Related grammar to review next

• お〜になる — the regular honorific pattern for verbs without a special form like いらっしゃる.
• なさる — honorific “do,” with the same irregular ます-form (なさいます).
• いたします — humble “do,” the other direction of keigo.
• ございます — polite “there is” for things, not respected people.
• ている — the base form behind honorific 〜ていらっしゃる.

Browse more lessons here:

• All grammar lessons
• JLPT N4 grammar lessons

Learn いらっしゃる with Hane

Hane drills keigo in both directions, so you practise answering どちらへいらっしゃいますか with 参ります. Practise いらっしゃる in Hane.