御座(ござ)いますTo be, To exist (Polite)

Structure

ある￫ ござる

Details

About ございます

ございます is a combination of the (special-class) verb, ござる (御座(ござ)る in its kanji form), and the auxiliary verb ます. It is considered polite speech, and is directly equivalent to ある (or いる).

ござる itself is almost never used in daily conversation in modern Japanese, due to the preference of the polite form, ございます. However, ござる is regularly used in dramas, manga, and other forms of media (especially historical dramas).

Fun Fact

御座(ござ)る literally means 'to be', and it does not matter whether the object that is being described is animate (would usually use いる), or inanimate (would usually use ある). However, いらっしゃる 'to be' is preferred when referring to other people, as honorific language is more respectful than polite speech. Due to this, ございます will often be used in reference to people, in place of であります (the polite form of である).

私(わたし)が担当者(たんとうしゃ)でございます。

I am the representative.
タナカ様(さま)でございますか？

Are you Mr. Tanaka?
タナカ様(さま)でいらっしゃいますか。

Are you Mr. Tanaka?

Notice that で is used in these examples. でございます itself is considered its own grammatical structure, that we will examine in a separate grammar point.

Synonyms

がある
To be, There is
Not studied yet

Examples

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おはよう御座(ござ)います。

Good morning. (Polite greeting)

お水(みず)が御座(ござ)います。

There is water. (exists)

鶴(つる)の折(お)り紙(がみ)が御座(ござ)います。

There is an origami crane. (exists)

駅(えき)があちらに御座(ござ)います。

The station is over there. (exists)

明(あ)けましておめでとう御座(ござ)います。

Happy New Year! (polite expression)

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ございます – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (10 in total)

Adarain
Is “humble” actually the correct descriptor here? My understanding is that “humble” is usually used to refer to keigo verbs that indicate an action done by the in-group (e.g. you or your company) in order to downplay your own importance. Verbs like 参る (humble form of 行く、来る) or おる (humble form of いる). On the other hand, ございます is a neutral polite verb that is used without regards for whether the referent is related to the in-group or out-group (and usually is neither anyway because ございます, like its non-keigo counterpart ある refers to inanimate subjects).
onechad
I came in here to see if this very question had been asked. Even the Tae Kim article linked under Readings says this:

It is neither honorific nor humble but it is a step above 「ある」 in politeness.
suppeppo
Okay, so I think I have an answer regarding this whole ござる situation (even if this answer might be a bit late lol). This will basically have to be small dive into humble language as a whole so here goes.

Basically, the ‘humble’ language 謙譲語 has two parts; one is for describing actions you do that in some way or another involve the person you are doing something to/for, and the other is for when you are only describing your own actions, but want to be extra polite in your speaking.

The first form, which is what most people probably think about when you say 謙譲語 is 謙譲語１, which includes the お～する pattern as well as some specific verbs. The second form, which can be called either 謙譲語２ (or 丁重語) only contains a handful of verbs.

The verbs which belong to 謙譲語２ are: 致す, 申す, 参る, おる, ござる, and 存じる.

Now, just as 尊敬語 can be used in plain form if you’re close to the person you’re talking to, e.g. 「今日、先生、いっらしゃる？」 this also applies to 謙譲語１, but not