| Japanese Suffix | Comments/Translation | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -chan | Bears a cute connotation to it. Used for pets 1. Used for friends 2. Used for boyfriend/girlfriend, significant other 3. Insulting/embarassing -dono | Usually used for someone with credentials | 1. For someone of title (doctors) or superiority, while not royalty -hime | Usually for a princess, but can be: | 1. For any female in line for the throne (second princess, duchess, empress) -kun | Suggests friendship ... or more | 1. Buddies, pals 2. For someone you admire ("sempai" or "sensei") 3. Someone you like ... more than a friend -sama | Mainly for royalty | 1. Lord, King, Emperor, Elder 2. Lady, Mistress, Queen, Empress 3. Oriental custom was that wives referred to their husbands as their "Lords" (Remember your wedding vows?) -san | General formality, usually for parents, elders, bosses | 1. Mister, Sir 2. Miss, Madam (Insulting if used with close friends) -seikun | Supposedly an informal word used with a deity | If someone's heard this used in Manga/Anime, let me know -sempai | Best said as "senior" | 1. Someone you admire and might aim to be like 2. Still admiration, but also shows affection -sensei | Similar with sempai, | but usually means you're studying under them 1. Master, teacher or "senior" (also for tutors and people who've worked longer than you) -yo | No real meaning. Same as the particle "yo" | 1. When boasting about someone (considered rude, unless you're referring to royalty/deity) Notes:
| kun [3] is used mostly by homosexual males
| |
Confused? Yeah, so was I
Match Age/Gender to find how an honorific can be used
[Honorifics not mentioned aren't used]
[More than one number means it can be any of those]
[Top row is person Speaking / Left column is person Spoken to/about]
[Young is up to age 11 / Old is Teen and up]
(If I get a lot of repsonse about this, I'll separate Teen from Old)
For a group
! is commonMale Female
Young Old Young Old
Male
Young
!chan [1]
kun [1/2]
sempai [1]
!chan [1]
sama [1]
!chan [1/2]
kun [1/3]
sama [1]
!chan [1]
sama [1/3]
Old
-
-
-
-
Female
Young
!chan [1/2]
hime [1]
sama [2]
!chan [1]
hime [1]
sama [2]
!chan [1]
hime [1]
sama [2]
sempai [1/2]
!chan [1]
hime [1]
sama [2]
Old
-
-
-
-