Do you know the meaning of san, chan, kun at the end of names in the Japanese language? In this article, we will talk about Japanese honorific titles.
The Japanese language uses a wide variety of honorific suffixes to refer to people with more respect. These honorific titles are gender-neutral and can be attached to names, as well as surnames and even objects.
The honorific title is generally used to refer to the person you are speaking to, or when referring to a third party. It is never used to refer to oneself, except for dramatic effect, or in some exceptional cases. Most honorifics can be written in hiragana, but we will only include the romanization and kanji in the article.
It is very important to learn all the titles and honorific suffixes because they are always used in the Japanese language, especially the suffixes that are used after a person’s name. Let’s look at most of them in this article:
Table of Contents
What does San mean in Japanese?
San (さん) is derived from sama, it is the most common honorific title, and it is a title of respect usually used among equals of any age. Although the closest equivalent in Portuguese is the honorific titles “Mr.”, “Miss” or “Mrs.”. San is almost universally added to a person’s name, in both formal and informal contexts.
The importance of -san is very great; what I will say now is a personal opinion, but let’s say I am talking to someone named Ichigo, which also means strawberry, if I stop using honorific suffixes, someone might end up confusing the person’s name with the strawberry.
- Besides people’s names, the suffix san is also used in a variety of other ways;
- Sometimes it is pronounced han (はん) in the Kansai dialect;
- Some MMORPG players often put the 3 (san) after their name to refer to the suffix san;
San is also used in combination with nouns in the workplace, so a bookseller can be addressed or referred to as honya-san (“bookstore” + san), and a butcher as nikuya-san (“butcher” + san).
San is sometimes used with company names. For example, the offices or store of a company called Kojima Denki can be referred to as “Kojima Denki-san” by another nearby company. This can be seen on small maps often used in phone books and business cards in Japan.
San can also be attached to the names of animals or even inanimate objects. For example, a pet rabbit can be called Usagi-san. (It can be considered childish, it’s like saying: Mr. Rabbit.)
What do chan, kun, and tan mean in Japanese?
Chan (ちゃん) is a diminutive suffix that expresses formality, trust, affinity, or security with the other person. However, using chan with superiors or older people is considered ugly and rude. In general, chan is used for babies, children, grandparents, and teenagers.
Chan is most often used to refer to young women; men rarely use -chan, they usually use -kun. Chan can also be used for cute animals, lovers, and close friends.
To emphasize informality, one can assign the suffix to the initial of the other person. For example, a woman named Momoko can be called Mo-chan by someone close to her.
Kun (君) – This is a low education particle, and its kanji is the same as “kimi” which means “you”. The suffix -kun is used among friends, a colleague, a younger brother or boy. It is quite used in the relationship of “superior speaking to an inferior” to refer to the inferior.
Tan (たん) – Means the same thing as chan, except that it is often used by children when they mispronounce the word. It can be used to make things sound cuter when added to a name.
What do dono and sama mean in Japanese?
It is a significantly more respectful and formal version of san. It is mainly used to refer to people much higher in the hierarchy, and sometimes to a person you idolize or admire greatly. When used to refer to oneself, sama expresses extreme arrogance (or irony).
Examples: The suffix sama is often used to address Kings, Princesses, Gods, Bosses, and customers in a store.
Tama / Chama – Tama and Chama are the childish versions of sama, when children end up mispronouncing the word and it became popular and kawaii.
Dono (殿) – This suffix is very rare nowadays and is used to show a very high degree of respect (even more than “-sama”). It was used to speak of samurai warriors during the Edo period. Since then, “-dono” has only been used to speak of warriors, but it is perfectly possible to use it for common people if they are very important.
What do sensei, senpai, and kohai mean in Japanese?
Senpai (先輩) is used to address or refer to an older colleague in a school, company, sports club, or other group. So, in school, students in higher grades than yours are considered senpai. Students of the same or lower grade cannot be senpai, nor can teachers. In a business environment, colleagues with more experience are senpai, but a boss is not. Senpai can be used by itself or as a suffix.
Kōhai (後輩) – Refers to a junior, or the opposite of senpai, but is not normally used as an honorific title. Sometimes you can even use kouhai-kun to refer to a kouhai.
Sensei (先生) – It is commonly translated as “teacher”. However, this is not the genuine meaning of this suffix. Sensei is used to talk about people “who were born before” (us) and who, for that reason, have more knowledge and experience in a certain area. For example, “-sensei” is used to talk about masters in Fine Arts, Martial Arts, or Literature. It is also normal to call a doctor sensei, for example: “Mizaki-sensei”, meaning Dr. Mizaki.
Shi (氏) – Shi is used in formal writing to refer to a person who is not familiar to the speaker, usually a person known through publications whom the speaker has never actually met. For example, shi is common in the speech of announcers, in legal documents, academic publications, and some other formal styles of writing and speaking. 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 to be referred to.
Other Japanese Honorifics
Senshu (選手) – This suffix means “athlete” or “one who practices sports”. Used to talk about people who practice sports like soccer, baseball, and even Formula 1 racing.
Zeki (関) – Also used for athletes but only for Sumo wrestlers, mainly those of high rank.
Ue (上) – Very commonly used in the past, among aristocratic families, to refer to someone to whom one feels great respect, such as father, mother, and other family members. Examples: chichi-ue (father), haha-ue (mother), ani-ue (older brother), ane-ue (older sister).
Iemoto (家元) – It is a more formal version of “sensei”, used for great masters of traditional arts, such as Japanese calligraphy or tea ceremony.
Hikoku (被告) – Used to refer to convicted criminals. Suspects still awaiting trial are referred to as “yogisha”.
Hime (姫) – Even though it is usually translated as “princess”, the suffix -hime can refer to a lady of noble origin.
Heika (陛下) – This is a royal title, which translates as “majesty”. For example, Tennō heika (天皇 陛下), which means “Your Majesty, the Emperor” and Joo heika (女王 陛下) which means “Your Majesty, the Queen”. Another similar title is Denka (殿下), which translates as “Royal Highness”.
Kappa (閣下) – Kappa is an honorific title that means “Your Excellency” and is usually used for ambassadors and some heads of state.
Bochan (坊ちゃん) – Used for rich children, usually by butlers.
Denka (殿下) – Denka is used for non-sovereign royalty, similar to “Royal Highness”. Denka can be used by itself, as “Your Royal Highness”.
Hidenka (妃殿下) – Hidenka is used to address the prince’s consort, and is used in the same way as the other royal titles.
Japanese Honorifics Daitouryou [大統領]
Daitouryou means “president” and is used for any national president. It is most commonly linked to a name, such as the 44th president of the United States, Obama-Daitōryō (オバマ大統領).
- Hoshi (法師) Buddhist monk;
- Shinpu (神父) Catholic priest;
- Bokushi (牧師) Protestant priest;
- Senshi (戦士) Used for Warriors;
Japanese Honorifics Shogo [称号]
These are titles created by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai along with the International Federation of Martial Arts of Europe. To refer to people at a certain level of martial arts.
- Renshi (錬士): Instructor. (Specialist or expert teacher) Granted from 4th Dan upwards;
- Kyoshi (教士) Refers to an advanced teacher. (Senior Teacher / Expert). Granted from 6th Dan upwards;
- Hanshi (範士) Refers to a senior specialist considered a “teacher of teachers”;
- Meijin (名人): Granted by a special board of examiners;
- Oyakata (親方) Master, especially a sumo trainer. Also used by yakuza and was previously used by samurai to refer to daimyō;
- Shihan (師範) Means chief instructor;
- Shidoin (指導員) Intermediate instructor;
- Shisho (師匠) Another title used for martial arts instructors;
- Zeki (関) Literally “barrier”, used for sumo wrestlers in the top two divisions (sekitori);
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