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Imagine wanting to tell a superior something along the lines of, "I
saw/read/received your e-mail." In Japanese, there's sometimes something with
using the te form along with words like くださる and もらう to suggest a favor has
been done, or something like that. So would this be a good way to put it:

> 電子メールを見てくださいました。

As in, "I saw your nice e-mail," or something like that.

Why or why not? If not, what's the proper way to go about this? Thanks!
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2014-02-27T18:16:05.697
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2014-03-01T01:20:08.277
2014-02-27T18:56:44.980
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politeness て-form formality
Is telling a superior, "電子メールを見てくださいました," correct?
くださる is used when the -doer- is the one who needs honorifics, so that sentence
makes it sound like you're exalting yourself above the listener. (It can be
appropriate if you're talking about someone else having seen your email.) もらう
has similar problems - -てもらう is used when someone else is doing the thing, so
メールを見てもらった sounds like '[I] had [my] email read'. You don't typically talk
about doing favours for other people, generally you talk about other people
doing favours for you - the connotations of the relevant grammar honour the
person who goes out of his way to do something nice, rather than humbling the
person that receives the nice thing.

Typically in situations like this you don't need any particular honorifics
beyond -ます, but if the superior is high enough up in the company's hierarchy,
you might feel drawn to a humble sentence like メールをお読みしました. メールを見ました or
メールを読みました is almost always going to be enough.
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2014-02-27T18:45:19.570
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2014-02-28T17:11:25.173
2014-02-28T17:11:25.173
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In addition to what @Sjiveru said, it's probably also OK to use

> ○ 読ませていただきました ; ? お読みしました  
>  ○ 目を通しました (this might require some discretion, as it may make the email
> sound unimportant)  
>  ○ メール、確認させていただきました ； △ メールが届きました  
>  ○ 拝見しました (again, depending on how high up this superiour is)
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2014-02-27T18:58:55.950
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2014-02-28T15:30:21.567
2014-02-28T15:30:21.567
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This kind of question is very good because it puts us on the spot in exactly
the same way we often find ourselves in real life. Unfortunately, just like
many questions on this site, we need to know a bit more about the context:

Is it someone you deal with on a daily basis? If so then you will use the
"politeness level" you use with them all the time - probably neutral Japanese.

If they are asking you if you saw their mail then your response will follow
the level and words they used in the question, so the conversation will be
something like:

田中課長：「...のメールを見ましたか」

You:「はい、見ました。」

And you will wait for the next question, ready to give your view or explain
the action taken.

If you are broaching the subject then:

1)You will ask them if they are busy.

2) If you have a view or a response that might take time then you introduce
the subject first, giving them the opportunity to postpone the conversation.

3) At all times you have to be clear what you are talking about so as not to
waste their time.

(This might all sound obvious but _you have not described the scenario_ and
although we are often concerned not to offend by using the wrong level of
politeness, getting these things right may be more important to the superior)

So, having got their attention you will probably say something like:

「今朝、田中さん／課長からのメールを読みました／見ました。」

And then, depending on the scenario be ready to follow up requested
information/opinion etc.

Regarding level of politeness:

  * If you want to say this to a very important person you do not often deal with and need to show reserve then the humble verb will be 拝見しました. 
  * くださる is used to refer to the other person's actions done for you. 
  * Humble forms such as お読みしました are used to describe actions you are doing for the other person to help them which may not apply to things have to as part of your job anyway!
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2014-02-28T01:53:52.137
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2014-02-28T06:10:54.420
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I would use

> メール(を)拝見(いた)しました。  
>  I saw your email.
>
> メール(を)拝読(いた)しました。  
>  I read your email.
>
> メール(を)拝受(いた)しました。  
>  I received your email.

for "I saw/read/received your mail". Using 電子メール is fine, but not really
necessary. Maybe 電子メール is similar saying "electronic mail" in English.

A more humble way of phrasing the first two would be

> メール(を)拝見させていただきました。  
>  メール(を)拝読させていただきました。

which might be

> Thank you very much for your email. [More details/comments/questions
> following.]

For a simple confirmation of receipt, the first version (e.g. 拝見いたしました) is
more appropriate.. For a detailed reply (or "I saw your nice email"), the
second version (e.g. 拝見させていただきました) is more appropriate.

**Note.** くださる is used to address other people, so 見てくださいました, with or without
か or question mark, is always assumed to be a question addressed to someone
else, not a statement about yourself.
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2014-02-28T13:52:21.707
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