〜かたがた (~katagata) — combining ~ with (a visit) — formal
Visiting someone and, on the same visit, giving thanks, greetings or a report — the language of business manners.
Formula (सूत्र ढाँचा)
Grammar rule (व्याकरण नियम र परिभाषा)
When to use it
- Your former manager helped you a lot with your visa renewal. You take sweets to his house and say at the door: 「先日のお礼かたがた、ご挨拶に伺いました」— 'I came to pay my respects, and also to thank you for the other day.'
- It is a word that wears a suit — for visiting superiors and for company letters.
Meaning
- 「〜かたがた」= one visit serves a second purpose too.
- That purpose is usually an act of courtesy: お礼・ご挨拶・ご報告・お詫び・お見舞い.
How to attach
- Nouns only, without 「する」: 報告かたがた — it does not attach to verbs
- What follows is usually a verb of visiting — 伺う・訪ねる・参る — or a set letter ending like 「お礼かたがたご報告申し上げます」.
Versus what you know
The meaning is close to 「がてら」which you just learned, but 「がてら」is a light, everyday word for going out (散歩がてら).
Watch out
Used in a relaxed chat with friends it sounds odd; there, 「がてら」or 「ついでに」is right.
Examples (उदाहरणहरू)
就職が決まったので、ご報告かたがた恩師の家を訪ねた。
しゅうしょくがきまったので、ごほうこくかたがたおんしのいえをたずねた。
Since I had landed a job, I visited my former teacher's home, partly to share the news.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) ご報告 = reporting the news (a noun, no する) → attach 「かたがた」 → then the verb of going to visit: 恩師の家を訪ねた (went to my old teacher's house).
先日のお詫びかたがた、本日は担当者と二人で参りました。
せんじつのおわびかたがた、ほんじつはたんとうしゃとふたりでまいりました。
Today I have come together with the person in charge, partly to apologize for what happened the other day.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) お詫び = apology (a noun) → 「かたがた」 → then the visit, in humble language: 参りました (I / we have come) — business language for visiting a client.
まずは書面にて、お礼かたがたご報告申し上げます。
まずはしょめんにて、おれいかたがたごほうこくもうしあげます。
For now, please allow me to report this to you in writing, together with my thanks.
How it is built (कसरी बन्यो) お礼 = thanks (a noun) → 「かたがた」 → then 「ご報告申し上げます」 (I hereby inform you — very humble) — a ready-made sentence for closing a formal letter.
Knowledge check (मिनी ज्ञान जाँच)
「先日の＿＿＿、一度お伺いしたいと存じます。」— fill the blank.
💡 Hint: Does かたがた attach to a verb or a noun?
N + かたがた — no 「する」, no 「の」. お礼かたがた = also to give thanks.
In which sentence is 「かたがた」unnatural?
💡 Hint: Said to whom, in what tone?
かたがた is for formal visits and letters; with a friend, casually, say 「散歩がてら」.
What is the biggest difference between 「かたがた」and 「がてら」?
💡 Hint: Which one wears a suit?
かたがた = formal, nouns only (お礼・ご挨拶・ご報告). がてら = everyday, nouns and ます-stems.
Your score: /3