How to Show Respect in English | Words + Actions

Check out Hey Lady! 👉 mmm.heylady.io/join an online community where women meet to practise speaking English!
This week’s lesson is all about how to show respect in English. 🤝 and the words and actions that help us to be respectful.
It’s a question I get asked often because many other languages have a respect ‘built in’ through the pronouns used to address people in everyday interactions. In English, this is less common… So what can you do to be respectful when communicating with your elders or superiors?
Well, there are DEFINITELY ways to do it! And that’s what I want to share in this lesson. I’ll cover:
1. greeting people respectfully
2. addressing people respectfully
3. important & respectful phrases that you should use
4. the actions you should and shouldn't do to show respect
You’ll see that there are easy, achievable ways to show respect in English, and be able to put them into practice right away!
✍️ I'm also curious to hear from you… How do you show respect in your native language?
What are the similarities and differences between showing respect in your native language and in English?
Enjoy the lesson!
Emma x
Read the full transcript of this lesson on my blog here:
www.mmmenglish.com/2021/08/18...
--------- TIMESTAMPS ---------
0:30 Introduction
02:45 Greet Respectfully
03:52 Addressing Someone With Respect
07:00 Respectful Phrases
08:45 Actions that show respect
#mmmEnglish #HowToShowRespectInEnglish #PoliteEnglish #EnglishTips #EnglishPractice #HeyLady #HeyLadyCommunity #EnglishWithEmma
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[@saadiasabouri89]

In Morocco when we've born our parents teach us to show respect to someone older than we by saying my father or my mother + his first name or my uncle or my aunt for example salam or good morning my father Mohammed or salam my father lhaj or lhajja ( if she or he done El haj) .... there's a lot of ways to show respect here in Morocco ❤

[@zakiamashhdi3672]

I find your lessons very useful. I am an urdu speaking woman from North India. My language has many ways of showing respect to elders or people who are strangers, with whom you are not free or informal. Using first name is a no no but there is not a profusion of please and thank you. It makes so many kinds to make this world :))

[@Daily-English-Conversation]

Very useful. Thank you so much!

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

You’re welcome. So glad you found it useful!

[@zebakhan-ds4xr]

@@mmmEnglish_Emma hi

[@mabeladutwimwaa]

You're so beautifulit's so beautiful beautiful beautiful so cute beaut

[@rie6275]

Hi, Emma! In Japanese, there are 3 different forms to show respect. We use “polite language” when you talk with senior people or people you are not familiar with. Also, we have even politer forms called “honorific language” and “humble language “. As for polite form, we change the end of the sentence. Also, it is super common in the workplace to address bosses as their titles, like “Tanaka Bucho”(= General Manager Tanaka) or simply “Bucho”(= General Manager). Quite different from English, don’t you think?

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

SO different Rie! We have many Japanese ladies in our women's community (Hey Lady!) and they are very polite and respectful. It is deeply embedded in your culture. It's so interesting to see how the different cultures interact with each other respectfully!

[@juanoswaldohernandez3333]

I have been to Japan and learned about their culture. It is by far the most respectful culture I know, not only with the language but with the attitude. I got used to bow like japanese people do for respect to elder. Unfortunately in Latin America we don´t have respect to older people, and it is maybe the reason we are not as progressive as Japan.

[@alexxavier2176]

@@juanoswaldohernandez3333 You can't say in Latin America there's no respect for older people. You may speak for your country or your own culture but in Argentina (and I personally) show a lot of respect for older people

[@md.homayonkabir3807]

Dear, Do you use casual form when you talk to your bossom friend, お茶おのむ

[@jean-yveslegall2562]

Hello Emma, in French there are two different pronounces to tell "you" to someone. We use "tu" when you are familiar with the person you are talking with. "vous" is the plural of "tu" talking with many people, but we also use "vous" when you talk with an important person or someone you meet for the first time to show respect. Many thanks for your work once again Emma 🤩

[@handeb120]

Hello Emma and Jean. There are also two different pronounces to tell ''you'' in Turkish as exactly in French. We use ''sen'' for informal situations and ''siz'' for formal situations. And ''siz'' is the plural form of ''sen'' , too. By the way thank you for your useful video lessons Emma.

[@MM-to6uj]

@@handeb120 I'm Iranian,yasha sin turkiye 🤗💙

[@norbath1650]

In Russian (and almost in every Slavic language, for that matter), "ты" (ty) is informal and used among friends, family members, acquaintances etc and "Вы" (Vy) is formal and respectful and used when addressing people you're not acquainted with, elders, and higher-ups.

[@yujiadutbhoyroo9194]

In Hindi, 'tu' is used informally to address friends and young ones but 'aap' is more formal word used to address elders,parents,teachers,employers.

[@antoniom.6014]

Hi Emma, in italian is similar to french: we use "tu" for uninformal conversation, whereas we use "lei" (Third-person singular pronoun) or sometimes "voi" (second-person plural pronoun) to show respect

[@marialourdesreyes5039]

We Filipinos "po" and "opo" are always associated with us when we speak with our elders or to someone we want to show our respect. We also call our elder brother as "kuya" and elder sister as "ate".

[@francescab7581]

Thanks Emma🤩. In Italy we use respect by using words like " signore/signora " with their surname. " grazie and per piacere" are other respectful words, which unfortunately are taken for granted😁

[@stevenyosef3607]

Thank u Emma❤️❤️❤️....I've learnt more from this video..... In South India , we respect older women as mothers, in casual way we call them "Amma" ; similar we call older men "Appa". In Formal atmosphere, we address older woman "madam" ,older men "sir"

[@clauoliveira6832]

Thank you so much Emma for your class.

[@satya.m]

Thanks, Emma 💖 In Indian English, we usually address everyone as "sir/madam" to show respect. Mostly at schools and public places...

[@pradelelien3267]

Thank you for teaching me Emma!

[@vallikadevi9542]

hello, Emma! I am from India(Andhra Pradesh) we respect elder people with words as well as actions, we use different suffixes while addressing elders. we greet with Namaskaram.

[@Rose.Amazingtalker]

I'm Zahra Sorkh from Iran,Tehran ,it's near the Istanbul,Turkey My family means Rose in english,I,'ve been teaching english from 6 years ago and now i'm improving my speaking skill with you dear,as a 34 years old women ,you are the best teacher that i ever have,thank you my dear

[@marlynrosatejeda2343]

I couldn’t agree more!!!!!, thanks I watched the video and yes absolutely useful!!, excellent I am one of those people who want to be respect doesn’t who that person is (child, young, old people) they deserve to be respected because the way you treat them reflect the way you want to be treated

[@shreya.psonali.p967]

❤️Thanks for making my day

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

That's so sweet :) thank you for making mine!

[@Sofiaccadori]

Amazing 😍 In Portuguese, we speak Senhor (Mr), Senhora(Mrs) to be polite. We trying to be punctual, but… Take care!

[@sofianemagid221]

Thank you Emma . you are really a very good teacher 😊☺️

[@anarghakk7979]

Showing respect is the most important thing in communication. In our native language we use different words for 'you'. Some words are respectful and some are important. And we also use auntie or uncle to those who are elder than us. from this lesson I get new ideas on how to show respect in English Thank you Emma. Can i adress you like this😁

[@user-ow9sb1vc9f]

I adore your lessons! U’re so beautiful! In Russia we show respect in the same way as in UK but we use pronoun YOU in plural (вы)for older people, for our boss, when we speak with strangers etc.and when we use formal language. When we chat with our friends, parents etc. we use YOU in singularity (ТЫ).

[@urbanshikukutu1344]

We do the same in our language. I'm a Namibian

[@waheedwaheed7]

Same is with my native language, Sindhi. We use plural pronouns for the ones we respect.

[@BoburZafarov.]

Да

[@anilkumar-zf3eg]

Thank you for teaching us . We can understand everything clearly.

[@ElMoscas114]

Another mmmfantastic lesson. Thanks a million.

[@amypham1376]

Hi Emma, your lessons are so informative and helpful. I have lived in Sydney for 13 years, I use English everyday in professional working environment, but I still feel difficult to communicate with native English speakers. Your lessons make me pause and make conscious changes. Thank you.

[@ihsanulhaq5534]

Hi, Emma! I'm glad to say that Urdu is one of the sweetest language in the world and it defines the politeness, respect and calmness by their own. It has specific pronouns to show respect, such a broad language it is like in English we just only use "You" but in Urdu we can use 4 words to use for different ages people. "Ap" is the most respect word for you and other words are "tum, tu, tujhe"

[@LoanNguyen-xs4ni]

In Vietnam, there are many ways to address people like: Ông- Bà(like grandfar, grandma), Cô- Chú(like anti, uncle), Anh- Chị(brother, sister),... but we can add the name(call with the name) after that. To show respect actions like always saying the greeting to people when meeting the people older than you.

[@cuper186]

Hi, I'm Indonesian, we have many cultures. So we have our habit in addressing older people. We address older people by call them bapak or ibu. In sundanese, the greeting is similar like good morning but while trowing our heads down. When Children, young, students greet and respect teacher or older people by kissing hands also.

[@StRaphael07]

I am so thankful for your class.

[@sofianemagid221]

Thank you Emma . you are really a very good teacher 😊☺️🤩

[@junjievillan4216]

Hi Teacher Emma! Another great content from you! Here in the Philippines we also address respecting other people by calling our boss Sir or Ma'am, 'Kuya'(Brother) in our eldest male peers, acquaintances, and friends while 'Ate'(Sister) in female. As part of our culture, we say 'Po' and 'Opo' in every situation to show respect to other people we are talking to. We also greet other professional persons like doctors, teachers, engineers, etc. according to their status. On the other hand, we show respect to our uncle and aunt by calling them 'Tito' and 'Tita'. We also performed the "pagmamano", or an "honoring gesture" in Filipino culture as a sign of respect for our elders and a way of requesting a blessing from our elders, especially in our grandparents. Not practicing using 'Po' and 'Opo' while talking is disrespectful for us because it tells that the person doesn't have good manners.

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Filipino people are VERY respectful and polite people. When I visited there, everyone called me Po.. and actually my husband had a team in Manila - they all called him Boss and he could never stop them (even though it made him feel uncomfortable!)

[@9458567]

Welcome back after short break Emma and thanks for new lesson :)

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Thank you! It's good to be back 😀

[@JennyMayolinEnglish]

This is super useful content!! I'd also love to see ways of showing respect in other cultures. 🤩😊

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

There are so many interesting examples being shared. I love it!

[@radhika5933]

I recommend a beautiful book (Secrets of sanatan dharma) available on Amazon & kindle

[@fashionactivist6559]

Thank you for this lesson 👍

[@javidmaindad4609]

Thanks a million for this helpful lesson.

[@GG-mg7vr]

Indians usually greet each others with hands kept together like this 🙏 and we say the word "namasthe". Your classes are nice and interesting. Thank you

[@ndres839]

Here in Spain we show respect to the older people using Usted instead of Tu as a personal pronoun, for example: to say do you use buses? ¿Usted usa los autobuses?instead of ¿tú usas los autobuses? We also change the verbs to show respect, to say discúlpame or disculpa, we say discúlpeme, to say come (imperative of verb eat) we say coma. It can be a litle be triky because you have to know which letter change in the verb

[@rkstudycloud1991]

Thank you so much for this article

[@fatimasaeed9090]

Thank you so much 🥰 Teacher

[@thedureads]

Thank you so much Emma for always bringing amazing contents. 💜💜

[@masielherreraguevara7848]

Hello Emma. This lesson was very useful. In spanish language there are many ways to show respect, but the most common is the use of ''tú'' with family, friends or people who have your same age or younger than you and ''usted'' with older people, your boss or someone in a higher status at the workplace . We don't use ''Mr'', ''Ms'' or ''Miss'' in Cuba, however it is used in other countries of Latinamerica. Most of the time we adress us as informal way, even though we don't meet us yet or we have different ages.

[@ducphan8638]

It ‘s very useful lesson! We understand more the western way of showing respect. In Vietnam, people show respect to older people by changing the personal pronoun addressed to that person. Suppose I am twenty, I would address someone 25 or 30 by pronoun “anh”, but if addressed to someone 60 or 70 or above , I would say “ Bác”. If addressed to a child I would say “ cháu “,etc…

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

So fascinating! Thanks for sharing Duc 😍 What about if someone is the same age as you?

[@argenireyes5954]

Beautiful Lesson Emma, so Useful.

[@thanseelasamjid79]

Thankyou so much for this wonderful lesson Emma mam, Your students are lucky to have a teacher like you❤️

[@ligialotfi7768]

Thank you Amma !!💕💕💕

[@estebanestradagovea5331]

Thank You Emma, i'm your follower. I've improve My listening and prononciation with your classes. Thank You very much

[@arwahammed3743]

Thank you very much for this lesson and i am Saudi and we are using the same way to be respectful speakers using greeting so i am very glad to share that with you

[@aristoteres1096]

Hi Emma! One way of showing respect in Turkey is we don't say "sen ( you )" to someone we respect, we say "siz (plural you)". Also in my country we call old people "amca (uncle)" or "teyze (aunt)".It doesn't matter, we can say this to every elder older than us. Greetings from Turkey. Thanks for everything

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Thank you sharing this :) quite a few places appear to avoid using a direct "you" - which I can totally understand as it sometimes sounds abrupt in English too.

[@corporateskillsacademy3299]

You are Awesome Emma❤️ We use your teaching in our organization 👍 You are a brilliant trainer 👍

[@edge-3458]

Excellent Emma! 🙌

[@Julia-ck5ff]

Thank you for this very important lesson lesson. For a foreigner it's an important topic. I feel more confident now because I want to be polite. Here in Belgium we have the same habits to show respect. It's very similar. Thanks a lot!

[@marzi1965]

Great video and clear explanation as usual! Here in Germany, there are two forms of "you", just like in French. "Sie" is more formal, "du" is informal/for close family or friends. It's a bit of a minefield for us English-speakers who live here, and leads to silly German sentences like "Sie können mich dutzen" (you can say you to me)!

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Haha, that's so interesting Marianne! So many languages have various versions of 'you'!

[@sepidehsohrabi8736]

Hi thanks for your great video. We show respect by standing up , being silent and letting some one respectful to speak.

[@dhrubapandey6332]

Thanks very much for teaching us about respect and physical gesture 👋

[@helalmohammed6227]

I liked your methods and the way that made it came to us easy and helpful

[@MisterGamerYouTube]

You have all my respect in both english & spanish, gracias por tus videos están excelentes 😁

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Thank you :)

[@anhma63]

Thank you so much for this lesson.

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

You're very welcome!

[@halilaktog9560]

I have been watching this channel for a long time and I really love this channel. It is very useful.

[@Kashyap_y]

G’day Emma, Hope you are keeping safe. Very informative video. Keep up the good work.👍🏻 Please, thank you and sorry are a must use words in English especially in western culture.

[@miftahuljannat8357]

I love your classes.

[@avaneendranathp7706]

Thanks.Very Useful

[@lypengkit1703]

Thank you so much Emma for this wonderful lesson.

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

And I'm so thankful for you watching my lesson! 😍

[@jarohasan859]

Very useful, thank you very much.

[@itik1722]

Emma, you are great! thank you!!

[@aslaminchannel]

that's very useful way of respecting other persons. thanks Emma

[@leonguerrero1132]

I love it. Thank you, Miss Emma.

[@ayshansafarli8736]

Thank you🥰It was useful. To show respect, you should give a seat to the older ones in my country. Love from Azerbaijan🌈

[@EnglishWithWaterfall]

Too much good. Thank you Emma. ❤

[@sergiovelis1955]

Thank you so much to show respect in english. Sergio from Chile.....very good class.

[@zyzkoffi]

Hii!Yap emma sister am a girl from india, Kerala ❤️ am really enjoying with your english and learning it❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thank youhh💝💝💝

[@palakkatiga4858]

love it, thanks

[@opermitabanerjee12]

In our Bengali culture we show our respect to our olders by touching their feet, speaking politely , not to arguing without any reason , listen to them full on ear. We say 'namaskar' to each to other to show respect and greeting good morning or afternoon in our language or in English (quiet often). And hug is also an action to show to too more friendly persons. I think you would love you know that information about my culture. And in my opinion we should respect all if they are little in age or elder. And loved the lesson ❤️

[@mahsamahani3543]

Hi Emma, thank you for the beautiful question you asked cause it made me more familiar with lots of different cultures in the world. Iranian in formal situations, shake hands with people of the same gender, whereas informally we kiss three times on each cheek. After shaking hands, we often put our right hand on our chest to show respect. Men and women generally will not shake hands unless they are relatives or close friends. In addition, In the Persian language when we want to talk with a stranger or older people, we talk formally and we use the second person plural. Thanks a lot for this useful video again.

[@learnenglishwithconfidence7184]

Hello hi

[@hulyasidar3218]

Thank you so much for your perfect lesson

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

You're welcome, Hulya ❤️

[@saifullahbaloch3590]

Maam thank you

[@hhftfghh8258]

This is what I was looking for .Thank you very much😊

[@misterbaig1774]

thank you so much for your precious time Emma.

[@ManishSharma-sk2zh]

Hi Emma, An informative and unique lesson about How to show respect? I sincerely appreciate your efforts and it is truly useful to all. Ans.1- Greet with respectful manners, e.g. Namaskar/ Nameste 🙏. Ans.2- Yes. Ans.3- Talking loudly infront of elders, don't gives proper response their questions, etc. Thanks and regards,

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Thank you, Manish! Funny - in English, not giving proper responses to questions can be annoying, but it's not always seen as disrespectful. I can imagine that there are cultures where this isn't okay though.

[@ManishSharma-sk2zh]

@@mmmEnglish_Emma thank you Emma, for your suggestion and advice.

[@luvikirar1]

You have a great teaching power which teaches me very well and intresting way. Lots of love from India.💜💜 Keep it up.

[@hassanhosseini1362]

Thanks gorgeous teacher

[@carlosacevedo3951]

Excellent video!! Thanks a lot!!

[@bupuriastory2780]

Thanks Emma it's really useful. Glad to follow ur contents and learn heaps from u since I was in Indonesia until I'm here in Australia. To greet people with their first name was one of the shock culture when I just arrived here and still until now sometimes I could hardly do that especially for those who are older than me or those with the title. I feel bad to call them like that because it wouldn't happen in my country. But I'm glad that I'm able to learn from u. Thanks Emma

[@panwk99]

Thank you, Emma.

[@guidoanichini8782]

A very good afternoon from Italy, Miss Jakobi 😊😊😊😊😊 and thank you very much for the video. Although I know all the language topics, but I still appreciate these videos very much. For they are for learning, but also for refreshing the language. And, of course my obsession for Australia brings me to appreciate this channel even more 😎😎😎😎. I truly truly love the Australian English accent.

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Haha that's awesome! So glad you like the accent :)

[@masteryodaf]

First of all, congratulations Emma on launching Hey lady!!! I think it's an epic add to the community and a great option to all ladies around the world!!! Other than that, awesome lesson!!! I loved it and it was super useful to communicate more respectfully in my work! One question though, when I ask for something via chat , Is it ok to say thanks immediately in the message same message or I should say thanks after getting what I asked for?

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Good question! It makes more sense for you to say thanks once you've received what you asked for, but if you really want to be polite, you can say thanks both times. First, "thank you for helping me" and then "thank you for doing that".

[@kalaiarasi8031]

Thanks for the lesson

[@BigFlyChannel]

I know only one way: Press F to pay respect. And I think it's beautiful

[@viateurnzabonimpa2682]

The topic was interesting. I appreciated it

[@keangamingchannel959]

Thank you teacher Emma.. from Philippines..

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

You're welcome! What are some ways that people show respect in the Philippines?

[@donnalynnhomma935]

@@mmmEnglish_Emma Hi Emma in the Philippines we use "po" or “opo" in Tagalog language.

[@keangamingchannel959]

@@mmmEnglish_Emma Addressing elders with “po” at the end of sentences. Answering, “opo” to reply “yes” respectfully. Calling your older sister, “Ate” or your older brother, “Kuya.” Listening respectfully to your parents and teachers. Using “mano po” to request for blessings from your elder relatives. :)

[@sexymary]

@@donnalynnhomma935 not all pinoys use 'pow' and 'opow' ..

[@nadirshah8600]

Very good, I love it.

[@ebthalmohamed239]

Thanks so much , Emma 😍❤️ In Egypt , I think we are the same . Just we say to all of people (أستاذ ، أستاذة ) . And we say (حجه ، حج ) to older people but these are informal. Not all people accept these words to call them . I don't when some people don't respect the older people in public transportation . Some people don't leave their seats to those need . And some don't say ( excuse me or please or thank u ) and I see these actions are disrespectful.

[@Simransingh-299]

Awesome way to show respect ........ 😍love it..... Emma.

[@junaith4147]

You are an excellent preceptress. Thanks a lot.

[@pragatidixit4198]

Thank u so much mam for providing us with much more knowledge.....My heartiest thanks to u🤗❤️

[@mergyuldursunramadan1375]

Thank you so much for the lesson EMMA!❤👐🌹⚘🌷

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

You're so welcome!

[@hackdroid9717]

Thank you Emma !!! Very usefull!!! Wish you all the best!!!!!

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

❤️

[@zaravardi3319]

Emma thank you for your work! You are doing good work!

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

Thank you Zara 😘

[@yashikaverma5108]

Thanks very useful video love your all videos

[@dr.z492]

Thank you for the best lesson , we need that ♥️

[@mmmEnglish_Emma]

😍

[@alexanderthreee]

I am from TamilNadu, India. My language is tamil. Tamil has respectful pronouns as well. For eg: The word “come” can be said informally as “Va” . But the same word to call someone respectfully it is “vaanga” 😊

[@yuvarajak5497]

Yes but i don't know the respectfully in English 🙂 still now learning 🔥

[@bios546]

Thankyou aunti ji!

[@sadeqaghai7097]

Very useful. Thanks

[@zhecizim]

We use in turkey "You" like there was two people for being respectful. i think this one is similar in English. Also if the person is our relative or familiar we kiss this person's hand. The tradition is so important in Turkey especially on feasts or important days🍀💞

[@tammytsang3487]

Thank you for this lesson that is much more than English. In Chinese culture, some parents never say sorry to their kids even if they do something wrong for their kids.