参る
まいる
hepburn mairu
to come / to go (humble)
Part of speech · godan-verb
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- ただ今、参ります。I shall come right away (humble).
- 東京から参りました。I came from Tokyo (humble).
Collocations
参る (mairu, humble come/go)行く (iku, go)来る (kuru, come)謙譲語 (kenjougo, humble)お参り (omairi, shrine visit)
Mnemonic
Mairu (参る) is the humble (kenjougo) form of iku and kuru, lowering the speakers own movement. Business phone phrase "tada-ima mairimasu" (I shall come right away) is canonical. The kanji 参 etymologizes as "three people praying at a shrine" — "visiting a sacred place." The homophone "o-mairi" names a shrine or temple visit — "jinja ni omairi suru" (visit a shrine). Pairs with the New Year hatsumoude tradition (covered in kotoshi). Korean iku / kuru humble and Chinese lai qu humble diverge. JLPT N5 keigo plus the o-mairi cultural cluster.
Quick check
Cultural code of o-mairi?