You can refer to someone very close using their name without using an honorific.It is very rude to talk about oneself using any honorific.It was more commonly used around the time of the samurai. Somewhere between "-san" and "-sama" but it's an old-fashioned title that is hardly found today except in certain administrative correspondence. This is the title used for God ("Kami-sama") or a princess ("Hime-sama") for example. 👸 Sama (様、さま)Ī mark of deference and huge respect for those high up in society or those with a high status.
It can be used after a surname or on its own. You are unlikely to make any mistakes with "Sensei", which can be used to address teacher, doctor, martial arts master or a recognised artist of either sex. In a work environment, some leader roles have their own honorifics, such as: 部長 "bucho", 課長 "kacho", 社長 "shacho". Its opposite is "Kohai/kouhai" but it is rarely used when talking to someone. You might find it transcribed as "sempai". Generally it refers to someone older.Īs with "Sensei" is used interchangeably by sex, and does not necessarily follows the name. This signifies that a person in a group has more experience such as a senior colleague or a high school senior if you’re in a lower grade. "-chan" can also be used with little boys though from adolescence, it becomes rather feminised. It's quite an affectionate word, which might be used with a friend, a classmate, a little sister, a baby, a grandmother, a girl or a woman to let her know you think she is sweet. "-Chan" performs a function similar to "kun", except that it is used mainly with girls. "Kun" is also often used in work relationships, between colleagues, especially of the same or inferior hierarchical level. "Kun" is used with a friend, a classmate, a little brother or a younger boy.Īvoid using it when speaking to a girl because it is a masculine form, unless it is someone you are very close to (for this reason, it gives interesting insights into relationships in some manga animes or dramas). In fact the symbol or kanji is the same as that of "kimi", like "you" in its familiar form or the French "tu" (especially between couples).
This is a less formal title with a lower level of politeness. "-San" is used primarily with last names, but can be used with first names, for example one of your students or someone new in your social circle. This is a kind of default honorific, which leaves little chance for error (but watch out anyway). "-San" is used with someone we respect and with whom one is not especially close, for example a colleague or boss, customers or anyone you don’t know very well. The simplest translation would be "Mr" or "Mrs" (so this is a unisex suffix), but it signifies much more than that. Also keep in mind these honorifics are highly contextual, so it is difficult to give absolute rules for their use. Unless otherwise specified, these honorifics are placed after the name of the caller (sometimes his first name but usually his sur-name), as in: Sato-san, Kenji-kun, Miyagi-sensei. We therefore propose to go over their various uses. As well as having a function of politeness, their use also gives a very strong indication of the familiarity or the relationship between the speakers. The use of honorifics in Japanese (of which "san" is probably the best known) is an inevitable part of the language, but also quite a confusing area for many of you.
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