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Japanese honorifics

Japanese uses a broad array of honorific suffixes for addressing or referring to people. These honorifics are gender-neutral and can be attached to first names as

well as surnames.

When addressing or referring to someone by name in Japanese, an honorific suffix is usually used with the name. Dropping the honorific implies a high degree of

intimacy and is reserved for one's lover, younger family members, and very close friends, although within sports teams or among classmates it can be acceptable to use family names without honorifics. When referring to a third person, honorifics are used except when referring to one's family members while talking to a non-

family-member, or when referring to a member of one's company while talking to a customer or someone from another company. Honorifics are not used to refer to oneself, except to be arrogant (see ore-sama, below), to be cute (see chan), or

sometimes when talking to small children, to teach them how to address the speaker.

Common honorifics

San

San (さん), sometimes pronounced han (はん) in the Kyoto area, is the most common honorific and is a title of respect similar to "Mr.", "Miss", "Mrs.", or "Ms." However, in addition to being used with people's names, it is also employed in a variety of other ways.

San is used in combination with workplace nouns, such that a bookseller might be addressed or referred to as honya-san ("bookstore" + san), and a butcher as nikuya-san ("butcher shop" + san).

San is sometimes used with company names. For example, the offices or shop of a company called Kojima Denki might be referred to as "Kojima Denki-san" by another nearby company. This may be seen on the small maps often used in phone books and business cards in Japan, where the names of surrounding companies are written using san.

San can also be attached to the names of animals or even inanimate objects. For example, a pet rabbit might be called usagi-san, and fish used for cooking can be referred to as sakana-san. Both uses would be considered childish (akin to "Mr. Rabbit" in English) and would be avoided in formal speech.

Online, Japanese gamers often append a numeral 3 to another player's name to denote san (e.g. yoshimitsu3 conveys yoshimitsu-san), since the number three in Japanese is pronounced "san".

Kun

Kun (君 in Kanji, くん in Hiragana) is used by persons of senior status in addressing or referring to those of junior status, or by anyone when addressing or referring to male children or male teenagers. It can also be used by females when addressing a male that they are emotionally attached to or have known for a long period of time.

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Although kun is generally used for boys, that isn't a hard rule. For example, in business settings, young female employees may also be addressed as kun by older males of senior status.

In the Diet of Japan, chairpersons use kun when addressing diet members and ministers. An exception was when Takako Doi was the chairperson of the lower house: she used the san title.

Chan

Chan (ちゃん) is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. Thus, using chan with a superior's name would be condescending and rude. In general, chan is used for babies, young children, and teenage girls. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends or any woman with youthful spirit.

Although traditionally honorifics are not applied to oneself, some young women adopt the childish affectation of referring to themselves in the third person using chan. For example, a young woman named Misa might call herself Misa-chan rather than using a first person pronoun.

Senpai and kōhai

Main article: Senpai and kōhai

Senpai (先輩) is used to address or refer to one's senior colleagues in a school, company, sports club, or other group. So at school, the students in higher grades than oneself are senpai. Students of the same or lower grade are not senpai, nor are teachers. In a business environment, colleagues with more experience are senpai, but one's boss is not a senpai. Like "Doctor" in English, senpai can be used by itself as well as with a name.

A kōhai (後輩) is a junior, the reverse of senpai, but it is not normally used as an honorific.

Sensei

Sensei (先生) (literally meaning "born before me") is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors, politicians and other authority figures. It is used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, and is also applied to novelists, poets, painters, and other artists, including manga artists. In Japanese martial arts, sensei typically refers to someone who is the head of a dojo. As with senpai, sensei can be used not only as a suffix, but also as a stand-alone title.

Sensei can be used fawningly, and it can also be employed sarcastically to ridicule such fawning. The Japanese media invoke it (rendered in katakana, akin to scare quotes or italics in English) to highlight the megalomania of those who allow themselves to be sycophantically addressed with the term.

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Sama

Sama (様) is a significantly more respectful version of san. It is used primarily in addressing or referring to people much higher in rank than oneself, toward one's customers, and sometimes toward people one greatly admires. When used to refer to oneself, sama expresses extreme arrogance (or self-effacing irony), as with ore-sama (俺様, "my esteemed self").

Sama customarily follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters, and in business email.

Sama also appears in such set phrases as o-machidō sama ("sorry to keep you waiting"), o-tsukare sama (an expression of empathy for people who have been working long and hard), and go-kurō sama (an expression recognizing someone's labors), but although this is written with the same kanji, it is semantically distinct from the sama used as a term of address.

Shi

Shi (氏?) is used in formal writing, and sometimes in very formal speech, for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker, typically a person known through publications whom the speaker has never actually met. For example, the shi title is common in the speech of newsreaders. It is preferred in legal documents, academic journals, and certain other formal written styles. Once a person's name has been used with shi, the person can be referred to with shi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one person being referred to.

Other titles

* Occupation-related titles

It is common to use a job title after someone's name, instead of using a general honorific. For example, athletes are referred to as xxx-senshu (選手) rather than xxx-san, and a master carpenter (棟梁 tōryō) named Suzuki might be referred to as "Suzuki-tōryō" rather than "Suzuki-san".

In a business setting, it is common to refer to people using their company rank, especially for positions of authority, such as department chief (部長 buchō) or company president (社長 shachō). Within one's own company or when speaking of another company, title + san is used, so a president is Shachō-san. When speaking of one's own company to a customer or another company, the title is used by itself or attached to a name, so a department chief named Suzuki is referred to as Buchō or Suzuki-buchō.

* Titles for criminals and the accused

Convicted and suspected criminals were once referred to without any title, but now an effort is made to distinguish between suspects (容疑者 yōgisha), defendants (被告 hikoku), and convicts (受刑者 jukeisha), so as not to presume guilt before anything has been proven. These titles can be used by themselves or attached to names.

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However, although "suspect" and "defendant" began as neutral descriptions, they have become derogatory over time. When Gorō Inagaki was arrested for a traffic accident in 2001, some media referred him with the newly made title menbā (メンバー), originating from the English word member, to avoid use of yōgisha (容疑者, suspect). But in addition to being criticized as an unnatural term, this title also became derogatory almost instantly.

* Titles for companies

There are several different words for "our company" and "your company." "Our company" can be expressed with the humble heisha (弊社, "clumsy/poor company) or the neutral jisha (自社, "our own company"), and "your company" can be expressed with the honorific kisha (貴社, "noble company" - used in writing) or onsha (御社, "honorable company" - used in speech). Additionally, the neutral tōsha (当社, "this company") can refer to either the speaker's or the listener's company. All of these titles are used by themselves, not attached to names.

When mentioning a company's name, it is considered important to include the status of the company, either incorporated (株式会社 kabushikigaisha) or limited (有限会社 yūgen gaisha). These are often abbreviated as 株 and 有.

Dono/tono

Tono (殿), pronounced dono when attached to a name, roughly means "lord" or "master." It doesn't equate noble status, rather it is a term akin to "milord" or French "monseigneur," and lies between san and sama in level of respect. This title is no longer used in daily conversation, but it is still used in some types of written business correspondence, as well as on certificates and awards, and in written correspondence in tea ceremonies.

No kimi

No kimi (の君) is another archaic suffix with a meaning roughly equivalent to "milord."

Ue

Ue (上) literally means "above," and denotes a high level of respect. While its use is no longer very common, it is still seen in constructions like chichi-ue (父上) and haha-ue (母上), reverent terms for "father" and "mother," respectively. Receipts that do not require specification of the payer's name are often filled in with ue-sama.

Royal and official titles

Heika (陛下) is used for sovereign royalty, similar to "Majesty" in English. For example, Tennō Heika (天皇陛下) means "His Majesty the Emperor" and Kōgō Heika (皇后陛下) means Her Majesty the Empress. Kokuō Heika (国王陛下) is His majesty the King and Joō Heika (女王陛下) is Her Majesty the Queen.

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Heika by itself can also be used as a direct term of address, equivalent to "Your Majesty".

Denka (殿下) is used for non-sovereign royalty, similar to "Royal Highness." For example, Suwēden Ōkoku, Vikutoria Kōtaishi Denka (スウェーデン王国、ヴィクトリア皇太子殿下, "Her Royal Highness, Crown Princess Victoria of the Kingdom of Sweden"). Denka can be used by itself, like "Your Royal Highness."

Hidenka (妃殿下) is for addressing the consort of the prince, and is used the same way as the other royal titles.

Kakka (閣下) means "Your Excellency" and is used for ambassadors and heads of state. It too can be used by itself or attached to a specific title.

Shushō (首相) is used for the Prime Minister of Japan.

Martial arts titles

Martial artists often address their teachers as sensei. Junior and senior students are organized via a senpai/kōhai system.

Various titles are also employed to refer to senior instructors. Which titles are used depends on the particular licensing organization.

Shōgō

Shōgō (称号, "title", "name", "degree") are martial arts titles developed by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, the Kokusai Budoin and the International Martial Arts Federation Europe.

Renshi (錬士 : れんし): instructor. Kyōshi (教士 : きょうし) refers to an advanced teacher. Hanshi (範士 : はんし) refers to a senior expert considered a "teacher of

teachers". This title is used by many different arts for the top few instructors of that style, and is sometimes translated "Grand Master".

Meijin (名人): awarded by a special board of examiners. See also Meijin.

Other martial arts titles

Kyōshi (教師 : きょうし), which in everyday Japanese can be a more modest synonym for sensei, is sometimes used to indicate an instructor.

Oyakata (親方 : おやかた), master, especially a sumo coach. The literal sense is of someone in loco parentis.

Shihan (師範 : しはん), merely means chief instructor; unlike the titles above it is not related to grade. (In the Isshin-ryū school of karate-do, Shihan is used to refer to 5th degree black belts or higher.)

Shidōin (指導員:しどういん), intermediate instructor, also unrelated to grade. Shishō (師匠 : ししょう) is another title used for martial arts instructors. Zeki (関 : ぜき), literally "barrier", used for sumo wrestlers in the top two

divisions (sekitori).

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Other titles

hōshi (法師: ほうし), Buddhist monk

Euphonic suffixes and wordplay

In informal speech, some Japanese people may use contrived suffixes in place of normal honorifics. This is essentially a form of wordplay, with suffixes being chosen for their sound, or for friendly or scornful connotations. Although the range of such suffixes that might be coined is limitless, some have gained such widespread usage that the boundary between established honorifics and wordplay has become a little blurred. Examples of such suffixes include variations on chan (see below), bee (scornful) and rin (friendly). Note that unlike a proper honorific, use of such suffixes is governed largely by how they sound in conjunction with a particular name, and on the effect the speaker is trying to achieve.

Baby talk variations

Some honorifics have baby talk versions - mispronunciations stereotypically associated with small children, and hence, cuteness. The baby talk version of sama is chama (ちゃま), for example, and in fact chan was a baby talk version of san that eventually became regarded as an ordinary honorific.

There are even baby talk versions of baby talk versions. Chan can be changed to tan (たん), and less commonly, chama (ちゃま) to tama (たま). These are popularly used in the names of moe anthropomorphisms, in which a cute female character represents an object, concept, or popular consumer product. Well-known examples include the OS-tan operating system anthropomorphisms and charcoal mascot Binchō-tan.

Familial honorifics

Words for family members have two different forms in Japanese. When referring to one’s own family members while speaking to a non-family-member, neutral, descriptive nouns are used, such as haha (母) for "mother" and ani (兄) for "older brother." When addressing one’s own family members or addressing or referring to someone else’s family members, honorific forms are used. Using the suffix san, as is most common, "mother" becomes okaa-san (お母さん) and "older brother" becomes onii-san (お兄さん). Sometimes the diminutive honorific chan or the reverent honorific sama are used instead of san. Meanwhile, whereas younger siblings address older siblings as "older brother" or "older sister," older siblings call the younger ones by name, usually without an honorific. Similarly, parents address their children by name, also usually without using an honorific.

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Japanese Forms of Address

A Beginners' Guide to the Intricacies of Personal Nouns

The Japanese language itself isn’t that hard to learn. It isn’t pitch-inflected like Chinese, and each word is pronounced phonetically, which makes the speaking part fairly easy. The fact that there aren’t articles, such as the or of, can be mildly confusing at first, but once a person gets used to not having to think of masculine or feminine for every noun they say, this aspect of the language is much appreciated.

The Ambiguous Parts of Japanese

The trouble comes when addressing people or objects: that is a very complex process. There are a variety of criteria a person must fit in order to be addressed a certain way, and the English language simply doesn’t have the depth to convey that. This is the reason English translations of manga have begun incorporating Japanese words. Here are a few basic forms of address that are most commonly used nowadays.

Watashi

This is the basic “I,” and anyone can use it without seeming weird. It is the form of “I” that girls typically use, although hip girls typically drop the “w,” making it “atashi.”

Boku

Another “I” noun, this one is mostly used by younger boys or men who are in a public situation and/or don’t wish to sound crude.

Ore

This is a crude, incredibly slang version of “I,” and completely masculine. If a girl uses this to address herself, she is labeling herself as a tough, or someone who is definitely not a girly-girl.

Anata

The standard way to say “you,” anata is not often used to address an individual. Japanese people generally call the person they’re speaking to by name. For instance, if asking their mother a question, like “where are you going?,” a Japanese person would use “okaa-san” (mother), not “anata.” Anata is used as a term of endearment between married or dating couples.

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Kimi

This form of “you” is generally used to address children. When addressing a younger person, or someone a person is fond of, it is taken as a cute, endearing form of address. Kimi can be used demeaningly though. If used in reference to a person’s skills, it can insinuate that that person is less skilled or less proficient.

Omae

If a Japanese person wishes to be really rude, they would use this form of “you.” It’s the crudest version, and considered very disrespectful, particularly if used with a person of older or higher rank.

Yarou

This tops even “omae” for crudity, and is usually translated as a curse word. Although it is a form of “you,” it is widely translated with the equivalence of “bastard.”

Wari-wari

Somewhat outdated, this word is not used very frequently anymore. It can roughly be translated as “we.” Heads of corporations or businesses, or political leaders, might use this when addressing large groups of people.

How to Master These Language Intricacies

There is no shortcut to knowing which forms of address to use when. One simply has to go out and be immersed in Japanese culture, paying attention to which forms of address the Japanese use at which times, and who they are addressing. Is the person, older, younger, have a respected position, been with the company/team longer?

If it’s difficult to be in an everyday setting where Japanese is exclusively spoken, try finding a college class to sit in on, or join Japanese clubs in the vicinity. Watching Japanese movies is also extremely helpful, especially as the newer ones use current and commonly used language patterns. Even if it’s just children’s movies, this will still improve knowledge of when and how to use personal nouns!

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Japanese Honorifics And Terms Of Address

Here are the most common honorifics and terms of address.

-sama Very respectful ending. Not normally used with someone's names. Used to people of superior status, like your boss, or to your guests as a host. Envelopes should be addressed with "-sama". A shopkeeper might call a customer "o-kyaku-sama" (Respected Mr. Customer).

-sensei A respectful term meaning "teacher", also used with physicians. Frequently used to refer to experts in a field or people in any respected occupation. Lawyers, master chefs, fashion designers, and even some manga artists are called "sensei". Sometimes used like an honorific with a name or title, as in "kouchou-sensei" (Mr. Principal, Sir).

-san Usual term of respect. It can stand for Mr. and Ms., and is attached to either first or last names, and names of occupations like "o-mawari-san" (Mr. Policeman). You use it for strangers and people you don't know well, but are more or less the same social status. When in doubt, use "-san".

However, never use "-san" with your own name or your family members' names. Also, it shouldn't be used to refer to famous people, since a small degree of intimacy is implied.

High school girls are usually called "-san".

-sempai Somebody in the same general social class, but socially superior to you. "Sempai" can also be used as an honorific.

Older students may be addressed respectfully as sempai, especially by girls.

-kun Used by a socially superior male to a socially inferior male. Familiarly used among male students and boys who grew up together. Recently, some teachers call girl students and some bosses call office ladies with "-kun", but it's still considered a masculine suffix.

High school boys are called "-kun". Girls go from "-chan" to "-san" in high school, but boys go through a period of "-kun" in between.

- Calling someone by a family name alone is being very familiar (or rough). Calling someone by given name alone is less rough, but more familiar. Using no honorific when one is expected can be an expression of contempt.

-chan Intimate form of address. Families that are close use it, and "-chan" is often used to, and by, very young children. Used with given names, abbreviations of given names, and nicknames, but not family names. Children who grow up together (like Madoka and Hikaru), may keep using "-chan" into adulthood. Note: to call a social superior "-chan" without reason is very insulting.

Family terms are also common terms of address.

(Note: One may sometimes identify a person by taking the listener's point of view, as when a man refers to himself as "father" to his children.)

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Referring to Addressing yours someone's yours (*) someone's grandfather sohu ojii-san ojii-san ojii-san grandmother sobo obaa-san obaa-san obaa-san uncle oji oji-san oji-san oji-san aunt oba oba-san oba-san oba-san elder brother ani onii-san (o)nii-san [Name]-san elder sister ane onee-san (o)nee-san [Name]-san

These six forms of address occur a lot. Children call strangers by the above family member terms, depending on whether what type of relative they consider them old enuf to be. (A good example of this is a scene recently described in this newsgroup where a child addresses a question to a young woman as "oba-san", and she responds, referring to herself as "oNEE-san".)

father chichi otou-san (o)tou-san/papa otou-san mother haha okaa-san (o)kaa-san/mama okaa-san younger brother otouto otouto-san [Name] [Name]-san younger sister imouto imouto-san [Name] [Name]-san daughter musume ojou-san [Name] [Name]-san son musuko musuko-san [Name] [Name]-san wife tsuma/kanai oku-san omae/[Name] oku-san husband shujin goshujin(-sama) anata goshujin(-sama) [Surname]-san

Some ways of saying "you":

otaku very polite sochira very polite anata polite, common(*) kimi informal masculine pronoun, common(*) omae very informal or rough(*) anta very informal or rough contraction temae very rough (Note: can also mean "I") onore very rough (Note: can also mean "I") kisama very rough

Some ways of saying "I":

watakushi very polite kochira very polite watashi polite, common(*) atakushi polite feminine contraction kotchi polite washi informal masculine contraction, used by old men atashi informal feminine contraction boku informal masculine pronoun, common, used by boys/young men(*) uchi informal feminine ore very informal or rough

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I've marked with a * the ones that come up frequently. Learning them will make watching unsubtitled anime more pleasant, but there's no need to memorize them, all at once.

You may notice that the very rough words for "you" are often translated as curses. These are pronouns that insultingly imply the speaker's superiority. They come up often as fighting words.