まいる・いたす・申す・いただく・拝見する
Special humble verbsmachine translation
FormationSpecial humble verbs that fully replace the ordinary verb: 行く・来る→まいる、する→いたす、言う→申す、食べる・飲む・もらう→いただく、見る→拝見する、いる→おる、会う→お目にかかる
Mirroring the set of respectful verbs is the set of HUMBLE verbs — used for YOUR OWN actions when speaking to someone above you: まいる (行く・来る), いたす (する), 申す・申し上げる (言う), いただく (食べる・飲む・もらう), 拝見する (見る), おる (いる), お目にかかる (会う). Lowering yourself is precisely how you raise the other person.
A formal self-introduction uses two words from this set right away: グエンと申します。ベトナムからまいりました (my name is Nguyen, I come from Vietnam). And the いただきます you say before a meal literally means "I humbly receive" — that's いただく itself. In the workplace, when speaking with a client, the actions of people from YOUR OWN company must also take humble language: 田中はただいま外出しております.
The most serious mistake in the honorifics chapter is pointing the verb the wrong way: saying ×先生がまいりました lowers your teacher. Always check yourself using the subject: 私が拝見します (correct) — 先生がご覧になります (correct); swap the two and it's instantly wrong. For verbs without a special form, use the お〜する pattern in a later lesson; the さしあげる・くださる・いただく set from the giving-and-receiving chapter also belongs to this system.
Examples
私はグエンと申します。ベトナムからまいりました。
My name is Nguyen. I come from Vietnam.
先生の写真を拝見しました。
I had the honor of seeing your photo, sensei.
その仕事は私がいたします。
Please allow me to handle that task.