In February 2007, the Council for Cultural Affairs of the Agency for Cultural Affairs issued Keigo no shishin, Guidelines on Honorific Language. It divides keigo into five types: sonkeigo (respectful language), kenjōgo I (humble language), kenjōgo II or teichōgo (courteous language), teineigo (polite language) and bikago (refined language).
The traditional classification had three types: respectful, humble and polite.