To be polite, say "おいくらですか" and not "いくらですか"?


"いくらですか？” seems like a common phrase taught to all students of Japanese? But,
instead of saying "いくらですか？", I always used to go honorific and say "おいくらですか？".

Is adding 美化語{びかご} to "いくら" wrong? Could it _ever_ be wrong? After all, you
cannot ask yourself questions. Why is the honorific "おいくら" not really taught?
"それはいくらですか？" sounds aggressive and "in your face"?




I normally say "すいません、これいくらですか。" and I don't think this sounds impolite. I
think my mother uses "いくらですか。" or "おいくらですか。", and sometimes "これ、おいくら？". I
think おいくらですか？ sounds politer and a bit feminine, and おいくら？ sounds feminine
and elegant.  

"Why is the honorific "おいくら" not really taught?"＞＞ Maybe it's because おいくらですか
/ おいくら is more used by older people and textbook publishers think that
students of Japanese are generally young??




I normally say "すいません、これいくらですか。" and I don't think this sounds impolite. I
think my mother uses "いくらですか。" or "おいくらですか。", and sometimes "これ、おいくら？". I
think おいくらですか？ sounds politer and a bit feminine, and おいくら？ sounds feminine
and elegant.  

"Why is the honorific "おいくら" not really taught?"＞＞ Maybe it's because おいくらですか
/ おいくら is more used by older people and textbook publishers think that
students of Japanese are generally young??

