Japanese Honorifics: Difference between revisions

: Originally "lord," in the feudal sense, once denoting a higher level of respect than ''-sama''. However, while ''-dono'' denotes high status on the part of the person being addressed, it does not imply lower status on the part of the speaker, unlike ''-sama''. It thus serves as a face-saving way for high-ranking ''[[Jidai Geki]]'' characters to address others of high rank. Today, it's considered slightly less respectful than ''-sama'' due to the lack of self-humbling. However, it's rather archaic to use at all these days; in anime it's sometimes used as an anachronism to indicate the speaker's age (Cologne in [[Ranma One Half½]], Washu in [[Tenchi Muyo!]], etc). The only place it's still more or less widely used is the military, cf. "kisama".

: A general term of endearment with overtones of intense cuteness, most frequently used for (and between) girls, but also applicable to pets, small children regardless of gender, friends, lovers. Making it part of a nickname is even more so, and is done primarily for little kids, [[Kawaiiko]] teen girls, close friends (regardless of gender), or lovers (for whom it is especially intimate). Sometimes translated as 'little'; for example, '[[Witch Hunter Robin|Robin-chan]]' becoming 'little Robin', sometimes translated as "-baby" (as in [[Ranma One Half½|Kuno-baby]]). Literally speaking, it's the diminutive -- a cultural equivalent to calling your friend "Jimmy" instead of just plain Jim. Technically speaking, it's what would properly be termed the ''affectionate'' diminutive. However, as the "Kuno-baby" example shows, it can also be used as a ''derisive'' diminutive, depending upon context and tone.

: A cutesy honorific for small pets. (ex. of redundancy: [[Ranma One Half½|P-Chan]])

* In the Japanese version of ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics a 2A2]]'' mission "A Bride for Montblanc", Montblanc call Fras (''Furansoa'' in that case) with ''-chan'', while Fras calls Montblanc with ''-sama''. It's possible that Montblanc is older than her, which the Vieras's [[We Are as Mayflies|life expectancy is three times longer]] than the [[Humans by Any Other Name|Hume's]].