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- さん (San): Mr./Mrs., Sir/Madam さん (san) is the most common and universal honorific used among Japanese people. The use of さん (san) is comparable to the use of Mr./Mrs. or sir/madam in the English language.
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Endō-san tanjōbi omedetō (Happy Birthday, Mr. Endō) San (さん), sometimes pronounced han (はん) in Kansai dialect, is the most commonplace honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age.
- Japanese Honorific Suffixes
- Workplace Honorifics
- Japanese Honorific Prefixes
-san
さん This is the most common Japanese honorific. It can be used for a person of any age or gender. It’s neither very casual nor very formal. San is the safest choice if you are meeting someone for the first time. You add –san to the person’s last name. Only use it with their first name if you are friends or family! Formal (at work): Yuko Nakagawa –> Nakagawa-san Informal (with a friend): Keiko Ono –> Keiko-san. If you aren’t Japanese, don’t worry if someone uses your first name with san. For ex...
-chan
ちゃん Chan is informal and used mostly for girls and between female friends of any age. It’s also used for children (both girls and boys) and showing affectionto something you find cute such as babies, pets and yes, lovers! Just be careful not to use this with people older than you (unless you have Japanese grandparents). You could sound rude! Sometimes, a person’s name is shortened when using chan which shows deep affection. For example: Michiko –> Michiko-chan –> Mi-chanみっちゃん Yoshino –> Yoshi...
-kun
くん / 君 Kunis informal and used for boys and men that are younger or the same age as the speaker. It’s often used by teachers toward male students and casually by older men to younger men in the workplace. Both males and females can use kun when speaking to a child or teenage boy. Kuncan also be used by females to show affection to their male partner. In this case they can use their significant other’s first name.
Japan has a long history of hierarchy, meaning that people were ranked from high to low depending on their status. This is still important in Japan today and Japanese honorifics are used to describe rank within the workplace. Here are some good ones to know.
Did you know that Japanese honorifics can be used for some verbs and nouns such as food? O （お）and Go（ご / 御）can be placed at the beginning of a word or a sentence to make them more polite. O is used for words of Japanese origin (kunyomi) and Go is for words of Chinese origin (onyomi). (Not sure what this means? Learn to tell the difference here!)
田中 さん はいらっしゃいますか? Tanaka san wa irashaimasu ka? Is Mr./Ms. Tanaka available? It’s also possible to use さん with anyone who is older than you to show consideration towards them. Age is extremely important in Japanese culture. In general, you should use polite language for anyone who is even one year older than you. 菊池 さん 、お手伝いしましょうか?
Apr 19, 2023 · Honorifics in Japanese are a complex system of addressing others, similar to “Mr.” and “Ms.” or “Sir” and “Madame” in English. Mastering Japanese honorifics will help you engage in all formal conversations with utmost confidence and grace. There are eight most common Japanese honorifics.
Aug 15, 2024 · Oftentimes, honorifics in Japanese are gender-neutral. The most common honorific, san (さん), is the closest equivalent to “Mr.” or “Ms.” (and similar) in English, but it doesn’t indicate a person’s gender.
May 6, 2019 · These are the Japanese honorifics that go at the start of a Japanese word. There are only two prefix honorifics: お- ( o- ) and ご- ( go- ). And there are only a handful of instances where they're added before names, like お母さん ( Okaasan , “Mom”) and お父さん ( Otousan , “Dad”).
Oct 15, 2021 · さん (San): Mr./Mrs., Sir/Madam さん ( san ) is the most common and universal honorific used among Japanese people. The use of さん ( san ) is comparable to the use of Mr./Mrs. or sir/madam in the English language.
