いらっしゃる is a frequently used expression in Japanese honorific language (敬語). Its purpose is to show respect by raising the social standing of the person being spoken about. As such, it is never used to describe the speaker's own presence or movements.

This single verb can serve as the honorific equivalent of 居(い)る 'to be', 来(く)る 'to come', and 行(い)く 'to go'. This multifaceted nature stems from the way honorific language frames the speaker's position relative to the respected individual, a more complex topic we will explore in a future lesson.

Using いらっしゃる is straightforward: just substitute it for いる, くる, or いく in a sentence.

• そこにいらっしゃるのは、田中(たなか)さんの奥様(おくさま)ですね。
  The person (who is) there is Mr. Tanaka's wife, isn't she?
• もうすぐお客様(きゃくさま)がいらっしゃるから、部屋(へや)を片付(かたづ)けてください。
  The guest will be arriving soon, so please tidy up the room.
• 先生(せんせい)は来週(らいしゅう)の会議(かいぎ)にはいらっしゃいますか？
  Teacher, will you be going to next week's meeting?

In addition, いらっしゃる can follow the て-form of another verb, replacing the auxiliary verbs いる, くる, and いく.

• 山田(やまだ)部長(ぶちょう)が戻(もど)っていらっしゃいました。
  Department Head Yamada has returned.
• お母(かあ)さんはあそこで本(ほん)を読(よ)んでいらっしゃいます。
  Her mother is reading a book over there.
• 教授(きょうじゅ)は傘(かさ)を持(も)っていらっしゃいました。
  The professor brought an umbrella.