![]() ![]() ![]() To be safe, always use -sensei instead of -san if you know that you are speaking to someone with this title. It’s also used for teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers, and people who are masters in a certain skill. Sensei means “the one who came before” and is a word that many of us know from Japanese martial arts like karate and judo. Another Japanese honorific -O is used before kyaku as in o-kyaku-sama(お客様 / おきゃくさま)。This is considered very polite. You will hear sama being used in shops and hotels in Japan when employees talk to customers ( kyaku in Japanese). Sama is so polite that it’s also used to refer to Gods as in kami-sama(神様 / かみさま). It’s used in business situations and for people of a higher rank. Sama is the most formal Japanese honorific and is part of polite language called keigo. In this case they can use their significant other’s first name. Kun can also be used by females to show affection to their male partner. It’s often used by teachers toward male students and casually by older men to younger men in the workplace.īoth males and females can use kun when speaking to a child or teenage boy. Kun is informal and used for boys and men that are younger or the same age as the speaker. Yoshino –> Yoshino-chan –> Yo-chan よっちゃん -kun Sometimes, a person’s name is shortened when using chan which shows deep affection.įor example: Michiko –> Michiko-chan –> Mi-chan みっちゃん Just be careful not to use this with people older than you (unless you have Japanese grandparents). It’s also used for children (both girls and boys) and showing affection to something you find cute such as babies, pets and yes, lovers! This is not informal, it’s to show respect for foreigner’s who have a custom of calling each other by first names! -chanĬhan is informal and used mostly for girls and between female friends of any age. For example, if your name is Andrew Campbell, you might be called Andrew-san. If you aren’t Japanese, don’t worry if someone uses your first name with san. Informal (with a friend): Keiko Ono –> Keiko-san. Only use it with their first name if you are friends or family!įormal (at work): Yuko Nakagawa –> Nakagawa-san ![]() San is the safest choice if you are meeting someone for the first time. It’s neither very casual nor very formal. It can be used for a person of any age or gender. This is the most common Japanese honorific. Let’s look at the main Japanese honorifics today so you can learn how to use them! They are only used after first names if you have a close relationship or for a child. Japanese honorifics are used after a person’s last name. It’s actually quite rude to say someone’s name without an honorific! They are both formal and informal and almost always used when we say someone’s name. Japanese honorifics are a little different. When we know someone well or if someone gives us permission, we don’t need to use honorifics, we just call them by their first name! If we don’t know their name, we can use Sir and Ma’am. before someone’s name in English to show respect. Most Japanese honorifics are suffixes and most English honorifics are prefixes. Honorifics are small words that come before a name (a prefix) or after a name (a suffix). “Honorific” means to give or show honor or respect. Japanese honorifics are one of the ways that people show this respect when speaking to each other. We all know that Japan is famous worldwide for being a polite culture. ![]()
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