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- 🧑 San (さん) The simplest translation would be "Mr" or "Mrs" (so this is a unisex suffix), but it signifies much more than that. "- 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.
- 🧒 Kun (君，くん) This is a less formal title with a lower level of politeness. 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).
- 👧 Chan (ちゃん) "-Chan" performs a function similar to "kun", except that it is used mainly with girls. 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.
- 🧑💼 Senpai (先輩、せんぱい) 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.
- Contents
- さん — San
- 君 ( くん ) — Kun
- ちゃん — Chan
- 氏 (し) — Shi
- 様 ( さま ) — Sama
- 先輩 (せんぱい) — Senpai
- 先生 (せんせい) — Sensei
- 殿 ( どの ) — Dono
- 父 (ちち) / お父さん (おとうさん) — Father / Dad
Ahhh, the famous さん.It’s arguably the most common Japanese honorific. That’s because it’s used in both formal and informalsituations. It’s generally okay to use for anyone, especially when you’re not sure which honorific to go for. 彼は鈴木さんです。 (かれは すずきさんです。) — He is Suzuki-san. さん can also be used to refer to companies and shops to imply respect for ...
You might have heard 君 in an anime,usually referring to a boy of school age. 君 is generally used to address young males. It can also be used for any man (or sometimes woman!) who entered a company after the person addressing them. お疲れ様、明日の会議の資料を作成してくれるかい、田中くん？ (おつかれさま、あすのかいぎのしりょうをさくせいしてくれるかい、たなかくん？) — Good job, Tanaka-kun, could you prepare the mat...
ちゃん is one funny honorific. It often refers to people, things or animals that are adorable, sweet or endearing. It’s usually used to address or talk about babies, young boys and girls, teenage girls, girlfriends, boyfriends or even a male friend that you find to be kind of cheeky and too close to warrant a さん. Don’t use it with a superior or a not-...
You’re not going to encounter 氏 often out loud, but it’s actually a common honorific in writing. It’s used mainly in the news when talking or writing about a famous person or notable figure (or really, anyone in the news) that one doesn’t know personally. It can also be used instead of a pronoun once the person in question has been established. Kee...
様 is a more formal version of さん. It’s usually used to refer to customers, those of higher rank or someone who’s earned (or just warrants) your respect. Customers of any kind of shop or service are automatically given the “utmost respect” status, so you’ll certainly have heard this if you’ve ever gone shopping in Japan. You may have already encoun...
Another honorific heavily used in anime and Japanese series, 先輩 is used to address a senior in your school, work, club or any other group you might belong to. For example, if you’re a sophomore, a freshman in your college is going to call you 先輩. Also, you won’t necessarily need a name to use 先輩. It’s an honorific that can stand on its own. The opp...
You might already know that this one is used to refer to teachers, but 先生 is also used to address people in general who are experts in their respective fields. It can refer to people of science (doctors, biologists, physicists), the arts (novelists, painters, musicians, manga artists), law and politics (politicians, lawyers, judges) and masters of ...
殿 is a tricky little honorific that’s usually used when the person you’re referring to is at the same level as you, but needs to be shown a bit more respect than usual. Not commonly used, it roughly has the meaning of “master” or “lord,” but it’s definitely not used in that context anymore for obvious reasons. 田中殿、ご協力いただき、誠にありがとうございます。 (たなかどの、ごきょうり...
This is pretty standard, but can be exchanged for a lot of variations depending on your relationship. 親父 (おやじ) — “dad” or “old man” can be used affectionately or somewhat rudely to refer to an older gentleman. Careful! お父さん、お仕事お疲れ様です。 (おとうさん、おしごとおつかれさまです。) — Father, thank you for your hard work.
Oct 15, 2021 · Rule 1: When you are not sure which honorifics to use, it’s best to use さん ( san) as it’s polite and gender-neutral. Rule 2: If you refer to children, girls, or someone adorable, you can use ちゃん ( chan ), but make sure not to use it in professional settings as it’s not formal.
The Japanese language makes use of a system of honorific speech, called keishō (敬称), which includes honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. Suffixes are often gender-specific at the end of names, while prefixes are attached to the beginning of many nouns.
Nov 14, 2011 · They are roughly the same as our own Mister, Miss, Madam, and Sir. Although for the Japanese they tell a lot more about the relationships between people. Honorifics are gender neutral, but some are used more for one gender than the other. Kun, for example, is used more for males while chan is for females.
Jun 18, 2021 · 3.1.1. 3.1.2 General usage. 3.1.3 For family members. 3.1.4 For certain occupations/roles. 3.1.5 For stores, shops, or restaurants. 3.2 さま (sama) Honorific. 3.2.1 General usage. 3.2.2 For formal correspondence and letters. 3.3 くん (kun) Honorific. 3.4 ちゃん (chan) Honorific. 3.5 し (shi) Honorific. 4 Japanese titles.
Apr 4, 2016 · San, the most common one, could be translated as “Mr.”, “Mrs.” and “Ms.” and is gender neutral. However, you will find that Japanese honorific titles are more complicated to use than it looks and that they cannot be so easily translated.
