6.4 表現読解: Business Set Phrases in Writing

6.4 表現読解: Business Set Phrases in Writing

Section 2 of Part 3 also tests fixed business expressions: 依頼 (requests), 断り (refusal), 謝罪 (apology), 報告 (reporting), 感謝 (gratitude), 結び (closing), and クッション言葉 (cushion words). Like the keigo items, these are single-sentence fill-in-the-blank items with four options. The skill is to recognize the function of the surrounding sentence and pick the set phrase that matches register, strength, and pairings.

Expression Categories and Their Functions

Selection Criteria

A set phrase is correct only if four conditions are met.

1. Relationship. Customer / boss / colleague / subordinate. A customer-facing request needs 何卒よろしくお願い申し上げます; an internal colleague request can use よろしくお願いいたします.
2. Tone / function. Request, refusal, apology, report, thanks, closing. The phrase must match what the surrounding sentence is doing. A sentence that reports a delay cannot end in ありがとうございます; it needs 申し訳ございません.
3. Register. Formal email vs casual email vs spoken. 拝啓 and 敬具 are written-letter markers; 失礼ですが is spoken-friendly; 恐れ入りますが is email-formal.
4. Set-phrase compatibility (fixed pairings). Some pairings are fixed: 拝啓 ↔ 敬具, 前略 ↔ 早々. 拝啓 without 敬具 is wrong; 前略 with 敬具 is wrong. 恐縮ですが pairs with a request, not a thank-you.

Trap Patterns

1. Register mismatch. A casual じゃありません or じゃありませんか in a formal context is wrong; the formal equivalent is ではございません / ではございませんか.
2. Wrong pairing. 拝啓 without 敬具; 前略 with 敬具; 拝啓 followed by 早々.
3. Wrong strength. お願いいたします (neutral) for a serious customer request that needs 何卒お願い申し上げます (very formal). Or the reverse: 心よりお願い申し上げます (desperate) for a routine request — overkill reads as sarcastic.
4. Wrong subject. ×「自分がご尽力いたします」— ご尽力 is sonkeigo for someone else's effort, not the speaker's. ×「ご尽力いただきありがとうございます」is correct because it honors the customer's effort toward the speaker.
5. Wrong collocation. ×「お詫びいたします」when the speaker is apologizing for a serious error — the formal 心よりお詫び申し上げます is required. ×「ありがとうございます」for a customer's significant effort without ご尽力いただき or ご対応いただき — too plain.
6. Cushion word without a request. 恐れ入りますが must be followed by a request. ×「恐れ入りますが、本日は雨天でした」 — a cushion word with no request to soften is structurally wrong.

Worked Examples

Example 1 (request to a customer). 「お忙しいところ恐縮ですが、今週末までに資料をご返信[ ]」

• Correct: いただけますと幸いです. The cushion お忙しいところ恐縮ですが must be followed by a request softened with いただけますと幸いです. ください is too direct for a customer; いただきます is wrong verb form (request form is いただけます).
• Trap: ください (too direct), いただきます (statement, not request), しております (irrelevant action).

Example 2 (refusal). 「せっかくのお誘いですが、今回は[ ]」

• Correct: 見送らせていただきます. The phrase せっかくのお誘いですが already signals polite refusal; the matching closing is 見送らせていただきます (humble let me pass on this occasion). 参加します would contradict せっかくですが. 辞退します is too blunt. 断ります is plain and impolite.

Example 3 (apology to a customer). 「納期が1日遅れることとなり、[ ]」

• Correct: 大変申し訳ございません. A delay affecting a customer requires a formal apology. すみません is too casual. 申し訳ありません is borderline; for a customer, 大変申し訳ございません or 心よりお詫び申し上げます is required. ごめんなさい is personal, not business.

Example 4 (report to a boss). 「〇〇プロジェクトの件、[ ]」

• Correct: ご報告申し上げます. The internal report frame is 〇〇の件、ご報告申し上げます. 報告します is too plain. ご報告いたします is acceptable but less formal. 申し上げます (kenjougo for 言う) is the standard.

Example 5 (closing). 「[ ]、今後ともご愛顧を賜りますようお願い申し上げます。」

• Correct: 引き続き. The closing frame 引き続き + 何卒よろしくお願い申し上げます is fixed. 今後とも already appears in the sentence, so 今後とも as the blank is redundant. ずっと is casual. これから is too plain for a customer-facing closing.

Reference Table of Common Set Phrases

Practice Strategy

Build a one-page cheat sheet organized by function (request, refusal, apology, report, thanks, closing, cushion) with three columns: phrase, strength, and required pair. When drilling, read the surrounding sentence first, identify the function, identify the relationship (customer vs internal), then select the strength. The most common error is jumping to a phrase that sounds polite without checking whether the strength and pairing match the surrounding context — formal but wrong-strength phrases are the test's favorite trap.