inquire · visit

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: The verb 伺う, read うかがう, is a humble expression for asking or visiting.
• Basic usage: 事情を伺う means to ask about the circumstances; 事務所へ伺う means to visit an office.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Asking and visiting
  • 担当者に事情を伺う means asking the person in charge about the circumstances; 事情 is the subject matter of the question.
  • Its sentence roles differ from 事務所へ伺う, which names the place visited.
• Whose action is humbled
  • 伺います humbles an action of asking or visiting on one's own side to show respect to the other party.
  • Being polite does not make it an all-purpose form for describing the other party's visits.