Everything about Japanese Honorifics totally explained
Japanese, like other languages, uses a broad array of
honorifics for addressing or referring to people with respect. In Japanese, these forms of address follow a person's name in the manner of a
suffix. The most common—and well-known outside Japan—is
san, which semantically coincides roughly with the courtesy titles "Mr.", "Mrs.", and "Ms." in English. Unlike in English, in Japanese honorifics may be attached to surnames, first names, and even professional titles. Other common ones include
sama,
sensei,
kun, and
chan.
Use
Correct use of titles is considered very important in Japan, as it's just about everywhere else in the world. Omitting a title when addressing or referring to someone is called . Although
yobisute is generally considered bad manners, in Japanese conversations, many non-Japanese (particularly in Japan) experience
yobisute when a Japanese person would probably be addressed more politely.
Although titles are usually added to names, there are some exceptions. They are not usually used when talking about a family member or another member of one's "in-group" to someone from outside the group. Inside a group such as a company, the members use titles such as
san towards each other. However, when talking to people from outside their company, they don't use the titles when referring to each other. This applies even to superiors. For example, a receptionist, when talking to the company president, will certainly use a title such as
shachō or
Maeda-shachō; however, when referring to the president when talking to outsiders, the same receptionist will simply refer to President Maeda as
Maeda, without any title. Honorific titles are also usually dropped when referring to historical figures, although awarded titles, such as military titles, are sometimes used.
Common honorifics
San
is the most common honorific and is a title of respect. It is used for the surnames or given names of both males and females. Although in translation
san is usually rendered as a common courtesy title like “Mr.” or “Ms.”, unlike these it's never used in self-reference. Using
san to refer to oneself makes one appear childish.
San may also be used in combination with nouns describing the addressee or referent other than the person's name; for example, a bookseller might be addressed or referred to as
honya-san ("bookseller" +
san) and a butcher, as
nikuya-san ("butcher" +
san).
San is also used when talking about companies and other similar entities. 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.
Although, strictly speaking, not an honorific title in this usage,
san can also be attached to the names of animals or even food products. 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 feminine and/or childish (akin to "Mr. Rabbit" in English) and would be avoided in polite speech.
In western Japan (
Kansai), particularly in the
Kyoto area, is used instead of
san.
Online, Japanese gamers will often add a numeral 3 after another player's name to denote 'san', for example,
yoshimitsu3 equates to
yoshimitsu-san. The reason for this is that the number three in Japanese is pronounced "
san".
Kun
is an informal
honorific primarily used towards males (it is still used towards females, but rarely). It is used by persons of senior status in addressing those of junior status, by males of roughly the same age and status when addressing each other, and by anyone in addressing male children. It can also be used by females when addressing a male that they like. Usually it depends on the relationship between the two people. In business settings, women, particularly young women, may also be addressed as
kun by older males of senior status. It is sometimes used towards male pets as well.
School teachers typically address male students using
kun, while female students are addressed as
san or
chan. The use of
kun to address male children is similar to the use of
san when addressing adults. In other words, not using
kun would be considered rude in most situations, but, like the rule for using
san in reference to family members,
kun is traditionally not used when addressing or referring to one's own child (unless
kun is part of a nickname: "Akira-kun"—
Akkun).
In the
Diet of Japan, diet members and ministers are called
kun by the chairpersons. For example,
Shinzo Abe is called "Abe Shinzō-kun". The only exception was that when
Takako Doi was the chairperson of the lower house: she used the
san title.
Chan
is a
diminutive suffix. It is an informal version of
san used to address children and female family members. It may also be used towards animals, lovers, intimate friends, and people whom one has known since childhood.
Chan continues to be used as a term of endearment, especially for girls, into adulthood. Parents will probably always call their daughters
chan and their sons
kun, though
chan can be used towards boys just as easily. Adults may use
chan as a term of endearment to women with whom they're on close terms.
Chan can be considered a feminine mode of speech in that it's used mainly by, or towards, females. Its pattern of usage is similar to using "dear" when addressing someone in English. Males wouldn't use
chan when addressing other males (other than very young children, or idiomatic cases like
Shuwa-chan, described below).
"
Pet names" are often made by attaching
chan to a truncated stem of a name. This implies even greater intimacy than simply attaching it to the full name. So for example, a pet rabbit (
usagi) might be called
usa-chan rather than
usagi-chan. Similarly,
Chan is sometimes used to form pet names for celebrities. For example,
Arnold Schwarzenegger gained the nickname
Shuwa chan in Japanese. Pet-names may also use variations on chan (see "euphonic suffixes", below).
Although traditionally honorifics are not applied to oneself, some young women adopt the affectation of referring to themselves in the third person using
chan, a mode of speech normally only found amongst small children. For example, a young woman named
Maki might call herself
Maki-chan rather than using a first person pronoun.
The Japanese media use
chan when mentioning pre-elementary school children and sometimes elementary-school girls.
Senpai and kōhai
is used to address senior colleagues or mentor figures, for example students referring to or addressing more senior students in schools, junior athletes more senior ones in a sports club, or a mentor or more experienced or senior colleague in a business environment. As with English titles such as
Doctor,
senpai can be used either by itself as a title, or with a person's name in place of
san.
is the reverse of this. It is used to refer to juniors (but not normally address them: kōhai are normally addressed by name +
kun; addressing someone directly as
kōhai would be somewhat rude).
Sensei
is used to refer to or address teachers, practitioners of a profession such as doctors and lawyers, 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. For example, Japanese
manga fans refer to manga artists using the term
sensei, as in
Takahashi-sensei for manga artist
Rumiko Takahashi; the term is used similarly by fans of other creative professionals such as novelists, musicians, and artists.
Sensei can also be used fawningly, as evinced by adherents in addressing or talking about charismatic business, political, and religious leaders (especially unordained ones). Japanese speakers will also use the term sarcastically to ridicule overblown or fawning adulation of such leaders, and the Japanese media frequently 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. A further, similar use is to address or refer to someone who acts in a self-important or self-aggrandizing manner.
As with
senpai,
Sensei can be used not only as a suffix but a title by itself, translating to "Professor" or "Teacher".
Sama
is the formal version of
san. This honorific is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself and in commercial and business settings to address and refer to customers. It also appears in words used to address or speak of persons or objects for which the speaker wishes to show respect or deference, such as
okyaku-sama (customer) or
Tateishi-sama (a
stone idolised as a deity). Additionally, Japanese Christians will refer to God in prayer as
Kami-sama and
Jesus as
Iesu-sama.
-sama is regularly used by the press to mention female members of the Imperial Family (as in Masako-sama). People will also affix
sama to the names of personages who have a special talent or are considered particularly attractive, though this usage can also be tongue-in-cheek, exaggerated, or even ironic. Examples include "Tanaka-sama" to refer to a young man named Tanaka who is considered rather handsome by his admirers and the "Leo-Sama" (or "
Reo-sama") that has become the media's pet name for
Leonardo DiCaprio. Further,
sama can be used to express arrogance (or self-effacing irony), such as in the arrogant male
pronoun ore-sama ("my esteemed self") for "I". Referring to oneself with
-sama is considered to be highly egotistical.
Sama also follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters and is frequently seen in business e-mails.
It is worth noting that the
sama appearing 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-kuro sama (an expression recognizing someone's labors), though written with the same
kanji, is etymologically and semantically distinct from the
sama used as term of address.
In the same way that
chan is a version of
san, there's also
chama from
sama, typically used for an older person. There is also the much less used "tama", which is the most childish and is usually used by young children for older siblings (like "Onii-tama", which means "big brother"), or someone else they admire.
Shi
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's only one person being referred to.
Other titles
Occupation-related titles
Instead of the above general honorifics, it's fairly common to use the name of the person's job after the name. It is common for sports athletes to be referred to as XXX- rather than xxx-san. The Japanese soccer-player
Robert Cullen is referred to as
Karen-senshu. A master carpenter might have the title, meaning "master carpenter", attached to his name, and be referred to as "Suzuki-Tōryō" rather than "Suzuki-San". Television lawyer Kazuya Maruyama is referred to by television presenters and in promotional literature as (literally "Maruyama-lawyer"), but would be called
Maruyama-sensei by a private client. A minority of educated Japanese now prefer to address their attorneys as
XXX-bengoshi because the traditional appellation
xxx-sensei is felt to be unduly deferential.
Inside companies, it's also common to refer to people using their company rank, particularly for those of a high rank, such as a company president,, or other titles such as, a department chief, etc.
Honorific job titles
The name of a job may have two versions. For example, "translator" may be or . Job titles ending in, literally "house", usually imply some kind of expertise and, thus, by the rules of modesty in Japanese, they're not usually used for oneself. The plain form with, literally "person", may be used by the person or in plain text, such as a book title. Use of the
ka ending implies respect. Similarly, there are, or "judo experts" in
judo, and
manga authors are referred to as or "manga experts".
In the case of farmers, the old name, literally "one hundred surnames", is now considered offensive (see
kotobagari), and farmers are referred to, and refer to themselves as,, or "farming experts".
Honorific job titles such as
sensei, which is applied to teachers, doctors, and lawyers, also have plain forms. For example, in plain language, a teacher is a, a doctor is an or, and a lawyer is . The polite versions are used when addressing or talking about the person, but the plain forms are used when referring to their profession.
Titles for criminals and the accused
Convicted criminals were once referred to without any title, though today with the title for
political correctness. For example,
Matsumoto-hikoku of
Aum Shinrikyo. Suspects awaiting trial are referred to by the title for the same reason.
Though these titles were made for political correctness, they've become derogatory as time passes. When
Gorō Inagaki was arrested for a traffic accident in 2001, some media referred him with the new-made title, originating from the English word
member, to avoid use of . This title, however, was criticized as an unnatural term and became derogatory almost instantly.
The title
jukeisha (受刑者) indicates a criminal serving a sentence.
Titles for companies
As mentioned above, companies often refer to each other's offices informally using the company name plus
san. In correspondence, the title is added to the company name when the letter isn't addressed to a specific person in the company. Furthermore, it's considered highly important to mention the status of the company, either
incorporated,, often abbreviated with the kanji in brackets, or
limited,, often abbreviated with the kanji in brackets either before or after the company's name.
There are also separate words for "our company",, (which literally means "clumsy/poor company") and "your company", in writing or in speech (these last two literally mean "honoured company").
Heisha or
onsha can also be replaced with the more neutral (literally "this company") or .
For organizations that provide professional services, such as law or accounting firms,
sha may be substituted by, meaning "office", in the above constructs.
See also
Japanese etiquette.
Dono/tono
Dono and
tono (both written 殿) roughly mean "lord" or "master". This title is no longer used in daily conversation, though it's still used in some types of written business correspondence. It is also seen on certificates and awards, and in written correspondence in
tea ceremonies. The word dono originally meant the residence of the aristocracy. It's often translated as "Lord" or "Lady" in English subtitles, though noble status isn't necessarily implied; it's more akin to general terms such as "milord" or French "monseigneur". Dono is similar to
sama, but the latter is less formal and often carries undertones of personal affection.
Note: Dono and tono are more common in anime and manga, particularly in period works, and often come up in two forms:
submissive: Using its "lord" or "master" roots, this form of dono is often considered to show slightly more respect than sama and more than san.
equal: This form of dono is used by a powerful/important person to address another powerful/important person with a great deal of respect without elevating the addressee above the addresser.
Ue
literally means "above" and, appropriately, denotes a high level of respect. While its use is no longer very common, it's still seen in constructions like and, reverent terms for one's own, or someone else's, father and mother, respectively. Receipts that don't require specification of the payer's name are often filled-in with ue-sama.
Royal and official titles
is affixed to the end of a royal title, with a meaning similar to "Majesty" reserverd for reigning sovereigns. For example, means "His Majesty, the Emperor" and means "Her Majesty, the Queen" (for example of Denmark). Heika by itself can also be used as a direct term of address, similar to "Your Majesty".
is affixed to the end of a non-sovereign royal title, with a meaning similar to "Royal Highness" or "Majesty". For example "Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of the Kingdom of Sweden".
means "Your Excellency" and is used for ambassadors and heads of state.
is used as an honorific if one is addressing a princess. Hime may also be used as a direct address, akin to calling a person simply "Princess". To convey even greater respect, the honorific sama will be added to both the title and the honorific. Can be used with an "o" prefix (Ohime sama).
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
are martial arts titles developed by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai.
The Kokusai Budoin,
: instructor.
refers to an advanced teacher.
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".
: awarded by a special board of examiners. See also Meijin.
Other titles
, which in everyday Japanese can be a more modest synonym for sensei, is sometimes used to indicate an instructor.
, master, especially a sumo coach. The literal sense is of someone in loco parentis.
, merely means chief instructor; unlike the titles above it isn't related to grade.
, intermediate instructor, also unrelated to grade.
is another title used for martial arts instructors.
, literally "barrier", used for sumo wrestlers in the top two divisions (sekitori).
Euphonic suffixes and wordplay
In informal speech some Japanese people may use contrived suffixes in place of honorific titles. This is essentially a form of wordplay, with suffixes being chosen for their pleasant sound, or for the friendly or scornful connotations of the suffix. Although the range of such suffixes that might be coined is limitless, some have gained such widespread usage that the boundary between an honorific title and mere affectation has become a little blurred. Examples of such suffixes include variations on chan (see below), nobaka (which has both positive and negative connotations), 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.
Variations on chan
Playful variations of chan include,, and . Chin and tan are mispronunciations stereotypically attributed to small children and are thus perceived as baby talk, hence their association with cuteness—though "chin" can also be used to give a character a slightly delinquent, psychotic feel—especially if the character speaking is older, and still using it to address people they nominally respect. Tan, on the other hand, is popularly used in the names of moe anthropomorphisms, artistic memes on Japanese imageboards typified by a female character, usually depicted in cosplay, representing a non-human being, inanimate object, concept, or phenomenon, or a popular consumer product. Well-known examples include OS-tan (representing computer operating systems) and Bisuke-tan (representing KFC biscuits). Some of these characters, such as Binchō-tan, are real corporate mascots. Chama, a portmanteau of sorts combining chan and sama, is sometimes used when the character being addressed is young, but still is respected by the speaker.
Further Information
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