What Are Japanese Honorifics?
Japanese honorifics are suffixes and prefixes used when talking to or about someone. They are used to establish the relationship between the two and can be either polite or informal. In Japanese, it would be rude to refer to someone by just their name in most cases. These titles are either added to or used in place of someone’s name depending on the honorific.
The easiest parallel to draw between Japanese and English for this concept would be to say it’s similar to “Sir”, “Ma’am”, “Mr.” “Mrs.”, etc. While this is true to a degree, the importance and depth to which Japanese uses honorific titles is much greater than in English. If you plan on speaking Japanese or just want to better understand Japanese society and culture, then you’ll want to learn how to use Japanese honorifics.
Honorific Suffixes
San
San is the most common and generic honorific title. It’s the safest choice as it can be used regardless of age, gender or social status. If you are unsure of what honorific to use, san is a safe choice.
Chan
Chan is normally used for girls, younger children, babies, close friends, and grandparents. It can also be used between lovers and even for cute animals. The honorific has a cuteness or childlike affection to it and would not be appropriate to use to address a stranger.
Kun
Kun is mainly for younger males, between male friends and between men in general. It’s also used by people of higher status when talking to their junior. While it is mainly used for males, it isn’t a strict rule, but the implications for use when referring to a girl is different. Typically, kun is lower on the politeness scale, but for girls it’s a little more respectful than using chan. In a business setting, it can still be used for young women by their male seniors. Additionally, in school, a male teacher may refer to his female students with this suffix. It can also be used between close friends regardless of gender. Kun is fairly flexible in its usage, and subtle changes occur depending on the situation it is used in.
Sama
Sama is on the upper end of the politeness scale and is reserved for more special situations. When referring to gods or the divine, sama is used, i.e. okami-sama, where kami means god. It can be used to show respect when talking to a guest/customer or to client of a business. It’s also used for addressing members of the Japanese Imperial family, excluding the Emperor, who is only referred to as heika. In a slightly different way, sama is also used in several set phrases, for example: “Gochisou sama deshita”, which means “Thank you for the food” and is said after eating a meal.
Tan
Similar to chan, but even more cutesy. Tan is used mostly for young children. Since it sounds similar to a child mispronouncing chan, it can be seen as baby-talk.
Bō
Similar to tan, bō is used for young children. However, it’s only used for boys.
Honorific Prefixes
Some words in Japanese begin with what is known as the “honorific ‘o’”. This prefix can be seen in the word for tea, where cha (茶) is written or said as ocha (お茶). Certain specific nouns can have the honorific “o” attached to them to make them more polite sounding.You’ll also see it in family titles like the word for mother ka-san (母さん) and father tou-san (父さん) becoming oka-san (お母さん)and otou-san (お父さん), respectively.
The prefix “go” can also be added to some words, specifically for words that use the Chinese onyomi (音読/おんよみ) reading, instead of the Japanese kunyomi (訓読/くんよみ) reading. A common example of this can be seen in the word gohan (ご飯), which means “cooked rice” or “meal”.
Other Honorifics
Aside from suffixes on people’s names, there are also titles that can be either placed after or fully replace someone’s name. There are many different scenarios like work or school that require the use of these specific kinds of honorifics.
Senpai
This title is used when speaking to someone who is your senior and in the same circle you are in. For example, you would call a colleague at work who has more experience then you senpai. The term can also be used in a school or club setting for people who are in a grade above yours. This does not apply to teachers, who are instead referred to as sensei. Senpai can used with someone’s name or by itself.
Kouhai
Conversely, kouhai is used for a colleague who is your junior. Similarly, in a school setting, a kohai is a schoolmate who is younger and therefore less experienced. While the title of kouhai does exist, it isn’t ever used to refer to someone; rather, the kun suffix is more likely to be used instead.
Sensei
This honorific is used when addressing anyone who is an authority figure in a particular field of knowledge. Many people assume it just means teacher; however, it’s used for teachers, lawyers, politicians, doctors and more. It can used with someone’s name or by itself.
Hakase
To address someone who is an expert in their field, you could use hakase. The closest English translations would be professor. That is, someone with a PH.D such as a doctor would be hakase. In reality, sensei is more common to use and replaces hakase in many scenarios where they both applicable.
Just the Surface
Japanese keigo (敬語), aka honorific language, is hard…
This is just a surface look at some of the honorifics used in Japanese. When and how to use them aren’t always easy as their definitions may have you believe. A lot of nuances and innate societal understanding is needed to master kegio. However, with a little practice, understanding when to use some of the more commons honorifics shouldn’t be hard. While there are a lot more honorific suffixes and titles, the commons ones like –san, –chan, –kun, senpai, and, sensei, cover the majority of situations you may encounter.
