Japan culture- Why -San/-Chan/-Sensei/-Sama?
Posted on March 29th, 2010 by admin
Im reading a Japanese book "The Street of aThousand Blossoms"
Ive noticed after many of the characcters names they have written -san, -chan, -sensei, or sama.
Could some one please tell me why this is or what these mean?
The previous posters are right, they are honorific, and show the relationship between the speaker and the person being addressed.
-sama is the most respectful, and is not often used in everyday speech unless, for example, you are trying to be exaggeratedly humble. It’s most often used for gods or venerated religious figures (e.g. Mihotoke-sama – Buddha; Shinran-sama – Shinran Shonin, founder of Shin Buddhism; Kami-sama – god) and members of the Imperial family.
-san is the one you would hear most often, it’s used with anyone older than you, anyone you don’t know, well, pretty much anyone you are not on terms of intimate friendship with. It is used with names, and also with occupations if you don’t know a name (e.g. ‘Hanaya-san’ – Mr flower shop’). Often you will hear ‘name-san’ used instead of ‘you’.
-chan/-kun is used for people junior to you in age or rank (though unless they are obviously very much junior, e.g. an adult speaking to a small child, it is safest to use -san), and amongst friends. -chan is used for girls/women and very young boys, -kun is the male equivalent and isn’t really used when addressing a girl.
-sensei is used for teachers, but also for doctors or anyone else you expect to be knowledgeable and guide you.
You never use an honorific with your own name.
March 29th, 2010 at 7:45 am
I only know 2
sensei means "teacher"
sama means "Master"
References :
I watch the super sentai series
March 29th, 2010 at 8:35 am
These additions to the names are called "honorifics". In Japan, using honorifics is an important part of their culture. Whether or not a person uses -san or -chan, it indicates the relationship between the two people. If a nickname or no honorific is used, that indicates a very close relationship.
For example, with your best friend you probably wouldn’t use any honorifics when you talk to them, but a classmate or co-worker would be expected to use the appropriate honorific when they are talking to the same person.
Wikipedia has a great resource all about Japanese honorifics. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_titles
I’ll also suggest this website. They give a great explanation: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/lexicon.php?id=55
Learning about honorifics is an excellent way to understand a very important part of Japanese culture. Have fun!
References :
March 29th, 2010 at 8:42 am
They are just suffix used to indicate the status or relationship between two people(family or respect).
-san/sama is very respectful(Mr, Mrs, Miss)
-chan is okay to use on a person that you know around your age or for example a sister or brother, or perhaps a friend or a younger person.
-kun is kinda the same as chan but used more on males(usually young ones but it can also be used on females although not common).
-sensei is teacher.
References :
March 29th, 2010 at 9:06 am
-San is often used when referring to someone such as a classmate or someone of equal ranking to yourself. Often this is used more towards male classmates but can be used toward female classmates too.
-Chan is pretty much the same as "-San" only more towards female classmates. This can also be used towards males as an affectionate term.
-Sama is used to refer to someone of higher ranking than yourself.
-Sensei is used to refer to a teacher, but you can also use it to refer to a writer, or a manga-ka.
These are used to help show respect and affection. They are kind of like Mr. Mrs. or Ms.
Another you might come across is "-Kun" this is used to show affection to others, whether male or female.
I hope this helps! ^.^
References :
March 29th, 2010 at 9:52 am
The previous posters are right, they are honorific, and show the relationship between the speaker and the person being addressed.
-sama is the most respectful, and is not often used in everyday speech unless, for example, you are trying to be exaggeratedly humble. It’s most often used for gods or venerated religious figures (e.g. Mihotoke-sama – Buddha; Shinran-sama – Shinran Shonin, founder of Shin Buddhism; Kami-sama – god) and members of the Imperial family.
-san is the one you would hear most often, it’s used with anyone older than you, anyone you don’t know, well, pretty much anyone you are not on terms of intimate friendship with. It is used with names, and also with occupations if you don’t know a name (e.g. ‘Hanaya-san’ – Mr flower shop’). Often you will hear ‘name-san’ used instead of ‘you’.
-chan/-kun is used for people junior to you in age or rank (though unless they are obviously very much junior, e.g. an adult speaking to a small child, it is safest to use -san), and amongst friends. -chan is used for girls/women and very young boys, -kun is the male equivalent and isn’t really used when addressing a girl.
-sensei is used for teachers, but also for doctors or anyone else you expect to be knowledgeable and guide you.
You never use an honorific with your own name.
References :