Keigo first: why 尊敬語 and 謙譲語 come before everything else for BJT

The short version

If you are starting BJT preparation, start with 尊敬語 and 謙譲語. A candidate who reached J2 reported spending the first weeks on them before anything else. The reason is simple: the organiser lists honorifics and attitudinal expression as part of the basic language skills the BJT measures, and the reading part includes a whole section of expression questions.

What is official, and what is not

• Official: the BJT measures basic language skills described as "vocabulary and grammar, honorifics and attitudinal expression" (語彙・文法、敬語・待遇表現). Brochure, April 2026
• Official: Part 3 (Reading, 30 questions, 30 minutes) has three sections of ten: 語彙・文法問題, 表現読解問題 and 総合読解問題. The test sets no vocabulary or grammar list, so there is no official list of keigo forms to memorise.
• Candidate report (November 2026): keigo appears mainly in the expression items of Part 3, while the grammar and long-reading items are mostly in です・ます style. The same candidate reported spending the first weeks of preparation on 尊敬語 and 謙譲語.

Why keigo first

• It decides who does what. In business Japanese the verb form tells you the actor. いらっしゃる and 召し上がる are the other person's actions. 伺う, 拝見する and いただく are yours. Mix them up and you misread a whole email.
• It unlocks the other parts. Emails and phone calls in listening and reading items are full of keigo. Understanding it makes every later study hour easier.
• It is a closed set. Unlike vocabulary, the core keigo verbs are a short list, so the time you spend on it pays back quickly.

A first-weeks order

Study the same set in four small steps, in this order:

• Pairs: the common verbs as plain, 尊敬語 and 謙譲語: 行く, 来る, 言う, 見る, 食べる, する, 知る, 会う, もらう.
• Roles: for each pair, who is the actor? Practise saying "this is my action" or "this is their action" before you choose the form.
• Fixed phrases: お世話になっております, ご確認ください, 恐れ入りますが, 承知いたしました, 少々お待ちください.
• Mistakes: double honorifics and wrongly mixed forms, such as using 尊敬語 for your own action.

Then move on to cushion words and requests (恐縮ですが, お手数ですが), which is where the 表現読解 questions sit.

How to check yourself

• Rewrite plain sentences. Take a plain sentence and rewrite it as if you speak to a customer, then to your own manager about a customer.
• Do the expression questions. Use the LangBytes expression drills and look at which options you reject for the wrong reasons.
• Do it under time. Part 3 gives about one minute per question, so the form has to be recognised quickly, not worked out.

Sources

• BJT brochure, April 2026: skills measured and Part 3 sections
• Candidates' reports, November 2026: where keigo appears, and the keigo-first study order