Uchi-soto

Uchi-soto in the Japanese language is the distinction between in-groups (uchi, 内, "inside") and out-groups (soto, 外, "outside"). This distinction between groups is not merely a fundamental part of Japanese social custom, but is also directly reflected in the Japanese language itself.

One of the complexities of the uchi-soto relationship lies in the fact that groups are not static; they may overlap and change over time and according to situation.

The workplace is a typical example: the employees below a middle manager are in his in-group, and may be spoken to using casual speech, while his bosses, or even, in large companies, people in other departments, are in an out-group, and must be spoken to politely. However, when dealing with someone from another company, one's own entire company is the in-group, and the other company the out-group. Thus, it is acceptable for the middle manager to speak of his own company, even the bosses, in non-honorific speech.

Japanese honorific language ("keigo") is divided into three forms: polite, humble and respectful.