112 comments

• 

  Kitam

  1 year ago

  bancho = HNIC
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  Ugh, sama and chan are the worst.
  
  I just don't like romanji'd honorifics, in general, I guess.
  
  Haha, did that come off a little harsh?
  reply
• 

  Daniel Feit

  1 year ago

  I think I've heard people say "Santa-san" around Christmas.
  
  My favorite usage of "chan" is Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is known in Japan as "Shuwa-chan." It turns someone so physically imposing into something cute...he's becomes an "adorable strongman" if you will.
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  WOTDsctoo

  1 year ago

  Ha!
  I think our sensei told us about this once, but I had forgotten. Thanks!
  reply
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  Isn't it kinda creepy if your teacher calls you "-chan" (when you are a girl)? Or maybe it's just me
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• 

  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  I left a comment on a past article referencing this article. It's deleted now, but the title basically says it all.
  reply
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  Wow, I think that girl didn't like him very much...
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• 

  Mizuu

  1 year ago

  Every time I write emails I use -san as a honorific.
  
  Chama comes from "chan" and "sama" and it is used mostly around family members (when the younger one is referring to the older one: sis, bro, mum, dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents) not to sound they have NO repect, but also that they are not turning cold shoulders to each other. Pretty nifty.
  
  Another trivia about sama is the fact, than when person working i the same place writes mail to each other they are in the same "uchi" but not too close - they write the honoryfics in katakana instead of kanji. As one of my Japanese teachers writing to some othe teacher stated "To show her that I respect her.... but not too much" (I find this adorable, and often noticed it in mails shown to me by various people).
  
  And came across Santa-san and Santa-ojii-sama/=san , so that is probably it. ;)
  
  Oh, and BTW, I think ou might hae added "sensei" to the overview (doctor, teachers, politians...) and senpai/kohai might also be useful.
  reply
• 

  tomususan

  1 year ago

  Suffixes are so confusing that I am trying to omit them as much that is possible ;)
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  Djarno

  1 year ago

  Thanks for the info. But now tell me what honorifics to use to degrade and belittle someone. I need to be able to bring the fire to any Japanese person who looks at me the wrong way, having found out his name, of course. I guess honorific wouldn't be a good word for this. Maybe obtrectific is better. C'mon give me some obtrectifics, Koichi-kun (omg, alliteration).
  
  By the way, you might call me Djarno-sama as I do patronize this blog...with my time, not with my money, never with my money. Anyway, don't let the fact that you've never seen a red cent from me stop you.
  reply
• 

  WOTDsctoo

  1 year ago

  Santa Claus!?
  
  I think if this were a multiple choice test, the only one that I would be able to eliminate would be kun. Then I would guess....sama? But it looks like people are saying san...
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• 

  Chimiko

  1 year ago

  You know, I had a question at the tip of my tongue that I wanted to ask, but I just forgot it. >.>;; I'll reply to this comment when I remember..~
  reply
• 

  Chimiko

  1 year ago

  O yeah!
  I remembered.
  
  When romanizing honorifics, most often we see a hyphen in between. But I've also seen people romanizing without anything in between... Is there an official, correct way to do it, or anything goes?
  reply
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  I think it makes more sense with the hyphen. I speak for myself because that's the only way I've seen people write it (I guess you don't use a hyphen when it's NOT romanized?)
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• 

  JohtoKen

  1 year ago

  僕は「エリさんで、ヴィエットさんで、サンタさん」で答えています。
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  1 year ago

  If I were to email our author Erin, which one would I use? if u are lovers or close friends- chan
  
  If I were to email our other author Viet, which one would I use? if you lovers or close friends-chan -_-.. but id go with san... possibly sama.. since he seems to son you often
  
  Lastly, here’s a trick question, what about Santa Claus?.. if you were emailing santa, assuming your familiar.. id say oba-chan since hes old and adored.. if you were to just run into him at a meat market or something.. id think sama would be used
  reply
• 

  Viet

  1 year ago

  +1
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  1 year ago

  haha.. i think i got an A+ on this test
  reply
• 

  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  Not quite, haha. 小母さん (obaasan) means grandma, haha. I would go with Santa様 or Santaじいちゃん, maybe. You did well on the other two, though.
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  1 year ago

  what if santa is a lesbian?..
  then what.
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• 

  クリス

  1 year ago

  Oh my, someone gave Kitam -2 pts.!
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  12 months ago

  -16 now -_-
  reply
• 

  Tofugu_Erin

  12 months ago

  Probably best to let it go.
  
  The more you point it out, the more people will notice.
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  12 months ago

  just replying to a post i saw in my email... i didnt have any intention to drag it out, i apologize once again
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  1 year ago

  yea, i have a couple of anonymous haters -_-
  oh well
  reply
• 

  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  (*＇A＇)
  reply
• 

  koichi

  1 year ago

  -1
  jk
  reply
• 

  Kitam

  1 year ago

  haha.. hater
  reply
• 

  GodoHell

  1 year ago

  Wonderfully informative. I think I'm sorta starting to understand it. I must say that I'm now appreciating the German language a little bit more as well. I was annoyed when I first learned that there was a formal way and informal way of speaking to people, but now that I've started learning Japanese, particularly in the case of addressing people, I'm kinda thankful that they only have two ways of addressing each other: formal and informal. :D
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• 

  Teko

  1 year ago

  You forgot "chi/ti" :'D
  reply
• 

  buratto

  1 year ago

  You said "Some (masculine) females get called (name)-kun, though this is less common." That's not true, actually. Someone of a higher status can use kun to those of quite a lesser status indifferent of gender. A female's masculinity doesnt matter really. And you didnt mention that its not necessary to use honorifics at all if you are talking to your close friend or lover, but thats kind of a modern trend i think.
  You could also write an article about titles used at work (primarily in the office) like kachou and bachou, and i think there is shachou.
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  Chimiko

  1 year ago

  Doesn't shacou mean boss or something?
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  Kachou means section chief, shachou means company president/director. And bachou is prolly something along that line too, if it exists.
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• 

  koichi

  1 year ago

  don't forget bancho, which is like "boss of gangstahs"
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• 

  WOTDsctoo

  1 year ago

  バンチョーレオモン!!!!
  
  Rar.
  
  Ahem...I'll try not to reference digimon again... >.>
  reply
• 

  buratto

  1 year ago

  haha, thats what i prolly tried to say by "bachou." besides these there are honorifics like dono which arent really used anymore, altho dono is sometimes used in writing.
  reply
• 

  Jason

  1 year ago

  I work as an engineer for a Japanese-based company, and dono and sama are thrown around all the time in email and other written correspondence. In fact, I'm not sure that anyone calls one another san in writing(except when they are writing to me.....). I just call everyone san until I see something else being used to address them by a person in a similar position to me. Oh the confusion...
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  It does get somewhat confusing. So dono and sama are common in writing then.
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  JohtoKen

  1 year ago

  What about buchou?
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  That reminds me, what about "aniki"? does it mean brother? or is it another honorific used by "gangstahs" (Yes, I've been watching doramas again...)
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  aniki is informal for older brother. they used among yakuzas too sometimes, albeit no being in a familial relationship.
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  And I guess it can't be used to refer to an older sister?
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  No, aniki is only use to refer to a brother. For sister you can use nee-san, o-nee-san, or simply ane.
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• 

  Julian

  1 year ago

  I`d probably use -san for everyone.
  
  What does "-chin" mean? Is it just a cute variation of "-chan"?
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• 

  spdrcd

  1 year ago

  so what would 「貴様」be??
  would that be used to honor people to the highest??
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  koichi

  1 year ago

  貴様 is reserved for people you hate / people you are angry at
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  yeah, 貴様 something like bastard, a vulgar term, there is no direct translation. When comes to vulgarity also dont forget 手前, teme, which is worse than kisama. Oh, and teme is generally used only by males.
  reply
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  masako itoh

  1 year ago

  great blog!
  reply
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  クリス

  1 year ago

  Any difference from 叔父さん／叔母さん compared to 叔父ちゃん／叔母ちゃん? I've also heard my friend refer to his aunt as 叔母ちゃん, is that common?
  
  １。エリンさん
  ２。ビエトさん
  ３。サンタクラズ様
  reply
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  As usualy, chan is just dearing and only used to someone you know well.
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  But if you know someone really well, you don't have to use honorifics, right?
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  furrykef

  1 year ago

  No, you should still use honorifics even in that case.
  reply
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  Oh~! Forgot about this one, there is also ue (上) which is only used in things like 父上様. Sorry for posting here too much
  reply
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  i forgive you >.<
  reply
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  buratto

  1 year ago

  Thank you very much, your forgiveness made my day much better ^ ^
  reply
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  emiko

  1 year ago

  Honorifics can be confusing since America is less strict about how to adress people, it is harder for others to understand. Thank you for explaining 'han,' that was getting me a little confused.
  
  By the way, does anyone ever say 'kohai' anymore? I've never heard anyone say it before, although I do hear 'senpai' very often.
  reply
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  OMG! I've been using the wrong one! I thought the kansai version was "hon", and yes I know it means book, but still, a lot of words have a double meaning in Japanese....
  Wow, what was I thinking...
  reply
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  ally

  1 year ago

  how do you say 貴様? please remember not everyone can read kanji yet.. :)
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  kisama
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  Fredy

  1 year ago

  The correct answer is... san for all of the above!
  さんさんさん！
  ３３３．
  That's like in Thai (sa watt dee Thai people). People write 555 for "hahaha"
  jajajajaja. !Spanish speakers will laugh at this! and that. :D
  Why is "w" used for lol? Or did I just make that up?
  Also, why do people say "lol" when they don't really "laugh out loud"?
  When was the last time you "lol-ed" when writing "lol"?
  Have you ever said "lol" instead emitting actual laughter?
  Haha there's my test... err... questionnaire.
  
  While in Japan I heard さん a lot and くん while in school. Never heard ちゃん though. One of the girls in my group tried using it with another host student, and the girl was like "Why ちゃん?" She was confused. I also heard the little shortening of the name with ちゃん. You got them write! I believe you cause I've heard them. I never heard the others though.
  
  Also, Koichi, before writing even more.... Please give me an example of Texan English, cause Texan, which to me is just English, is what I just speak and I do not know what is not part of the standard dialect. I just know that I lost some people using "y'all".
  reply
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  Fredy

  1 year ago

  I apologize for typing away in a stupid-like manner right now. I guess I'm tired. :( I hate writing dumb-sounding comments.
  
  I also meant "never heard ちゃん much though".
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  you are forgiven as well..
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  Oh you have no idea. Even spanish speakers are using "lol" and "OMG" when they chat.
  My favorite is ROFL. It sounds hilarious if you try to say it with a Spanish pronunciation and if you think about it literally, it is less likely that someone will abandon his/her keyboard to "roll on the floor laughing", unless they suffer of hysteria or a severe case of epilepsy.
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  WOTDsctoo

  1 year ago

  Yeaaahaaa! I love jajajajajajjaa.
  I used to play world of warcraft, and during one dungeon one of the people only spoke Spanish (or hated us and was making an excuse not to communicate or something XD), and he would say "jajajajjaja". One guy tried to translate...but needless to say, we failed miserably because of lack of communication. XD
  
  But that whole 3san thing is pretty nifty. It's like a pun with numbers or something! Is there a different name for that I wonder...?
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  My friends still make fun of me because of my "jajajaja", and now I only use "hahaha" or the shorter version "lol" even with Spanish folks :P
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  Zaywex

  1 year ago

  You made me snort out loud (sol kind of loses it's ring though...).
  
  I had this homestay who said that 'w' is short for some type of smiley that has to do with laughing.
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  The letter "w" is short for warau or "laugh".
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  Fredy

  1 year ago

  makes sense :D
  reply
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  a different name for using the number 3 instead of san?
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  Uriel

  1 year ago

  I actually avoid using honorifics as much as possible because they are just so cheesy. Miiko-chan! No thanks. Except San of course, don't want to be rude.
  
  This probably stems from that in Spanish you can add a sort of cute nickname additive as well, -ita/ito. Ex I would, was, Urielito.
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  Ugh. The ito/ita...I always felt people were looking down on me when the would call me "nessita".
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  huh?.. now im confused.. dont use honorifics?
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  oh.. nvm i see what you said.. misread that part
  .. btw.. what happend to my +1 point -_-"
  reply
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  Pachi_PMT

  1 year ago

  I know other people have done this already, but I'd thought I'd do it anyways. Makes for good practice. :D
  
  If you were to email me (or someone else you don’t really know), what honorific would you use?: -San
  
  If I were to email our author Erin, which one would I use?: -Chan
  
  If I were to email our other author Viet, which one would I use?: -Kun
  
  Lastly, here’s a trick question, what about Santa Claus?: -San, I think.
  reply
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  SaKuRa

  9 months ago

  actually letters and such are mostly always sama, if you don't know the person really and I believe even if you do, just because its writtin down and therefore it sound better formal I believe. At least that was the case for me always, and I wrote enough thank you letters in japan....
  reply
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  Zaywex

  1 year ago

  Ha, we should probably call him サンタさま if we want good presents. x)
  reply
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  good idea.. i think.. i cant read kanji.. but your confidence has got me sold!
  reply
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  Here are my answers:
  
  " If you were to email me (or someone else you don’t really know), what honorific would you use? "
  
  I guess officially it would be "Jaered-san" :P
  
  " If I were to email our author Erin, which one would I use? "
  
  I don't think you have to use honorifics with someone who is really close to you (that would be ridiculous, like having my mom call me "Miss..." everytime she talks to me)
  
  " If I were to email our other author Viet, which one would I use? "
  
  I dunno, I guess "Viet-san"
  
  " Lastly, here’s a trick question, what about Santa Claus?"
  
  Santa-sama. He is, after all, a celebrity
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  zattsu-ooru

  1 year ago

  Another one of Kansai, similar to han is yan, but it has a more comic effect. Seen it in comedy a lot.
  reply
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  Byakko

  1 year ago

  So, odd question here... I'm trying to write a book set in Japan (my own person little invention, not to make money, but just 'cause I like writing), and my main character is interested in dating one of the other characters. He doesn't seem to be noticing her suble hints though, LOL! Would she be able to use -sama to be coy and cute, while still telling him that she respects his opinion greatly? Or would she simply use -san or -kun, if using anything?
  
  Just making certain I'm using my knowledge of the culture correctly.
  reply
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  Djarno

  1 year ago

  Here's the rule:
  
  Use -sama only if you want their money and they're not related to you.
  
  I guess there is something about hearing sama that makes people think, "Hmm, I feel it prudent to make a transaction with this gentleman."
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  Please don't use -sama, haha.
  
  Using -kun is probably pretty safe, though.
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  yea... i think sama is a little over the edge for any situation a person may encounter in a lifetime.. i can see it being used for sarcasm, but thats about it
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  Lenners

  1 year ago

  I would use -san for all (though that might be overly formal?) ^^
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  you would have to know his personal relation with them to even be able to answer this correctly.. so, as long as you dont use sama for anything other than viet, your possibly safe.
  reply
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  Ramaja

  1 year ago

  If i were one of those Samurai lover guys (http://www.tofugu.com/2008/02/09/how-to-talk-li...) who use words like "degozaru" or "degozaimasu" in everiday conversations would I rather say "Santa-dono" insted?
  reply
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  Meg

  1 year ago

  I believe that in a JDrama I've heard someone referenced as name-tan. Does this exist, or am I just hearing a t when they're saying an s? The subtitles also had it down as name-tan.
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  some of those alteration could be pronunciation slangs
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  -tan is a version of -chan.
  
  It's a little to cutesy for my taste D:
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  ouch -2 comment points..
  seeing that i had +2.. im assuming that I messed up somewhere really bad >.<"
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  Is everyone commenting like crazy because they want to be one of the top commenters or something? It's getting kind of out-of-hand, in my opinion. Let's strive for quality, people, not quantity, haha.
  reply
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  mmnessa

  1 year ago

  I'm sorry but if me or the rest are doing anything wrong just because we're discussing with other people in the comment section I would like to know. I'm certainly not the one who is acting spammish.
  I could care less about the top commenters, I'm here because I like this website and I think comments are just as interesting as the post itself.
  reply
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  I'm really glad we have such a cool community of readers/commenters! It's just that this hasn't really happened before, haha. I don't mind so much, as long as everyone stays on topic. Maybe we'll start a forum after all? I don't know. It's something for the Tofugu Team to think about, eh?
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  My comment wasn't supposed to be a reply to yours, btw.
  
  I don't know how it ended up that way D:
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  well.. i am sorta the ring leader of the recent out break.. you can tell that based on the fact the ppl felt my offsetting topics to be useless enough to de-rep me 4 times -_-..
  i kinda get the picture, i wasn't posting for a status relevant post count.. just moreso to be relevant in general, nahmean... im a goofy person, i make goofy posts.
  ive got a load of art to finish tho ^^, so ill reserve my post for topics more relevant to myself. my bad about this, no harsh feelings i hope >.< and thanks
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  insomniacgamer

  1 year ago

  if you guys can't figure this stuff out, you might as well just give up on the japanese language altogether >_<
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  Hey now, no reason to be disparaging.
  
  Everyone has to start somewhere.
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  insomniacgamer

  1 year ago

  i think some people just don't realize they hard work and effort it goes into learning another language...
  
  also i was just curious... what book is koichi studying out of right now?? i know he recommends the Genki series (which is one of the sources i use also) i wonder how he feels about An Intergrated Intermediate Approach to Japanese ( the book after the Genki 1 & 2 series )
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  Tofugu_Erin

  1 year ago

  To my knowledge he's not studying anything right now. The last book he used was probably Formal Expressions for Japanese Interaction. I have a copy, if you'ld like to buy it from me, hehe. Oh, I also have an Integrated Intermediate Approach to Japanese. We use both in the Japanese program at our university. Looks like I've lent that one out to someone, though. I liked that book; I still have most of the conversations memorized, haha. If you want Koichi's opinion (I know that mine probably isn't as credible), though, you should probably email him directly, or use the Tofugu contact form.
  
  P.S. Just because some people can't figure out the proper use of honorifics, it doesn't mean that they're not trying. Then again, I don't know many of our commenters personally, so I have no evidence either way.
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  insomniacgamer

  1 year ago

  well maybe since i have been to japan 4 times it makes it easier for me to understand ^_^. i am going to go for my BA in Japanese Language & Literature starting this fall. they also use the genki books and the intermediate book. i have them all already because i self-study a lot. if he's not studying, tell him to stop slacking off :P
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  Kitam

  1 year ago

  yea.. its very hard to pick up. i try diligently everyday because its relevant to my arts!
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  insomniacgamer

  1 year ago

  kitam if you are having a lot of trouble remembering things i suggest that you use a program called Anki, i used to have a lot of trouble remembering all the words even if i wrote them out 30 times each... Anki is just a more effective way of studying (and it's free) here's the link: http://ichi2.net/anki/ give it a shot for a week and i guarentee you'll never study without it again ^_^
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  Kitam

  12 months ago

  ah man thanks
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  keirakibou

  12 months ago

  As for -sama, what about "okusama" and the like?
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  nii

  11 months ago

  There is one thing that I do not understand in this blog entry. If you typically do not refer to yourself with suffix '-san', why would the Japanese have 'san' (or '3' in this case) in their username? That would mean that they are referring to themself as 'san', which is something to be avoided.
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  ally

  11 months ago

  i was wondering that too!
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  Izeyhec

  11 months ago

  this is very good i think because i refer to most people as san but because like most people who watch anime gah i refer to alot of girls by chan not knowing at all what it ment but now i know
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  karab1n3r_k90

  10 months ago

  it is too cr4zi33 f0r m3!!!!!!
  gud thing philippines never had that such thing...
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  SA

  7 months ago

  Hahaha, I know you'd hate me for saying this, but in a lot of animes, the people with Osaka accents usually add "han" at the end (i.e. Emishi from Get Backers says "Shido-han".) That did not make any sense to me until now :P
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  Emma

  3 months ago

  Its easier just to use san every time LOL , in anime they used honorifics all the time its so confusing
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  Kurohana

  1 year ago

  wait a minute, then why do anime characters (especially cute ones) call all their friends -chan? i usually hear -senpai when talking mostly to senior males in school.
  
  alot of the time okama's like to be referred to as [name]-chan and use Atashi for "I"
  
  i've heard girls referred to as -kun too. I barely hear san when speaking amongst school friends.
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  Viet

  1 year ago

  Anime isn't exactly a good source to reference for proper Japanese language. It has it's own little language. If you want to sound funny and get weird looks, then by all means learn from it.
  
  Here is an article that covers using anime as a language tool
  http://www.tofugu.com/2007/06/03/learn-japanese...
  reply