お～する

The construction お + V[stem] + する / いたす is part of humble language (けんじょうご謙譲語) in Japanese. It is used to lower the speaker’s actions in respect to the person being spoken to. This form is common in business or formal contexts when describing actions taken by the speaker or their in-group on behalf of someone of higher status.

Using the longer version with いたす makes the sentence more polite than the shorter version with する.

Sino-Japanese words use ご～ instead of お～. This primarily concerns する verbs.

• れんらく連絡する → ご連絡する

Some words are however an exception to this rule:

• べんきょう勉強する → お勉強する
• でんわ電話する → お電話する
• さんぽ散歩する → お散歩する

Irregular humble verbs

The following verbs are an exception in the formation of the humble form: