[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EMj9x.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/EMj9x.jpg)Over
the last month, I've been texting daily with someone I met during my recent
trip to Japan. We've only used casual language but today, she called me (name)
氏 whereas she has used 君 before. We spoke on the phone two days ago and she
referred to that today as お喋りした, which I believe is the polite form of the
verb?

Signs don't seem to be there that she's upset (ie. quick replies, sends long
messages, etc.) but to my understanding, a shift from casual to keigo can mean
you've done something to upset a native speaker. I know it's impossible to be
sure without asking the person directly, but does this typically mean
something negative from a language/cultural standpoint, or am I mistaking the
context?

Thank you for any help.
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2023-01-10T01:24:54.507
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2023-01-10T03:00:40.170
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question
culture keigo sonkeigo
What (if anything) does it typically mean when a native speaker switches from casual to keigo with you?
This is hard to answer without seeing actual messages, but here are some
possibe reasons:

  * If it's only the name suffix (氏) that has changed... 
    * She started to use 氏 half-jokingly as an otaku-ish suffix: [Naming suffix -氏 (-し) used by an otaku character in anime](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/62108/5010)
    * She simply wanted to try different ways of addressing you, which is not uncommon among close friends (some people have even 様 in their nicknames)
  * If the overall manner of her speech has changed... 
    * The topic of the message on that day happened to be something important and serious
    * She started to feel she had to pay more respect to you (e.g., because she suddenly realized you are a great person in your home country)
    * She started to use stiff/businesslike language intentionally because she had trouble communicating with you smoothly in slangy/informal Japanese
    * The Japanese you use is very polite and she started to adapt to it
    * She simply started to feel you are remote because she hasn't seen you for a while
    * She started to prefer to use polite language because she has grown up or is now in a position of responsibility

Basically, if the only thing that has changed is the name suffix, I think
there is nothing to worry about deeply now.
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2023-01-10T02:35:03.367
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2023-01-10T02:47:16.477
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answer