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Japanese Honorifics: Difference between revisions
→Anime and Manga: How did we miss a new example with no bullet markup inserted at the top of the section for two years? Fixed. Added markup and missing work name/link to other examples.
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== Anime and Manga ==
Tsuyu from ''[[My Hero Academia]]'' is somewhat vocal about who she wants to call her by her given name followed by [[Japanese Honorifics|"-chan"]]. Izuku often fails to oblige her, which she often responds to with a request to recalled "Tsuyu-chan". This is typically translated as her requesting to be called Tsu. When Himiko Toga calls Tsuyu "Tsuyu-chan" without permission (or Tsu in the translations), Tsuyu requests Himiko to not do that, as she only wants her friends to call her that. ▼
* "''[[Sempai-Kohai|Sempai]]''" is frequently used without explanation in English dubs these days.
* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' has power and hierarchy in relationships as a major theme, so it's no surprise that honorifics are used in all sorts of interesting ways to reveal this. (The dub tries its best to get the idea across, but can't always manage.) There's ''lots'' of examples, but one of the major ones is Anthy's habit of using ''-sama'' for the current winner of the duels. At the beginning of the show, she always addresses Saionji as Saionji-''sama'' (translated here as "Master Saionji"). Then, after Utena defeats him, Anthy emotionally devastates him with one sentence:
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*** He also refers to Misao, as well as Toki and Shigure from [[The Movie]], as "-dono". Again, likely to show his respect to their thoughts and beliefs.
*** In Kenshin's case it's for the most part simply a normal way of old-school samurai speech. Kenshin as a rule speaks ''very'' politely and old-fashioned, so him using the "-dono" honorific is only to be expected, even if it hasn't yet fallen out of use even among the general population. Note that Kenshin technically isn't a samurai, but back in the Bakumatsu times anyone who can afford two swords ''was'' it...
* In ''[[Tenchi Muyo!
** Washu (who is 20,000 years old and the galaxy's greatest scientific genius) [[Insistent Terminology|insists on being called "Washu-chan"]] ("Little Washu" in the dubbed version) by everyone (except Ryoko, who she insists should call her "Mom" instead), ''especially'' ultra-formal Ayeka. She generally refers to Tenchi as "Tenchi-dono", indicating her age.
** Ryoko, being extremely informal and not at all interested in other people's concepts of what's polite, doesn't use honorifics. Tenchi, on the other hand, uses standard honorifics for everyone ''except'' Ryoko,
* In the English translation of ''[[Excel Saga (manga)|Excel Saga]]'', Hyatt almost always refers to Excel as "Senior Excel" or just "Senior"—a reasonable, if not exactly standard, usage that reflects the Japanese "Excel-[[Sempai-Kohai|sempai]]". Il Palazzo, their immediate superior, addresses Excel (as an example of its use in a context other than schoolboys) as "Excel-kun".
* During a [[Flash Back]] in one of the later episodes of ''[[Steel Angel Kurumi 2]]'', the English dub actually has a child using the ''-tan'' honorific without explanation.
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** In the [[Azumanga Daioh|''Azumanga'']] dub, Chiyo is consistently referred to as "Chiyo-chan" by the other characters, although "Sakaki-san" is changed to "Miss Sakaki."
** Chiyo at one point becomes insecure about the idea that other students don't respect her because of her age (as she's a child prodigy who was promoted to high school at age 10), and insists to a rather bewildered underclassman that he should be addressing her as "Mihama-sempai" rather than "Chiyo-chan."
* ''[[Lyrical Nanoha
** Nanoha goes from calling Shamal "Shamal-san" in A's to calling her "Shamal-sensei" ("Doctor Shamal") in [[Nanoha Striker S|StrikerS]] after she becomes her doctor.
** During an argument between Yuuno and Chrono in the third sound stage of the first season, sparked by Chrono calling Yuuno a familiar, Chrono complains about Yuuno not using honorifics on him (although he doesn't seem to use them on anyone), and Yuuno claims he gave him permission to do so.
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** This is actually common in Japan with young women thanks to [[Kawaisa|kawaii culture]] and the [[Kawaii|pressure for women to act young and innocent]].
* In ''[[Paprika]]'', Atsuko Chiba claims to be annoyed when Tokita addresses her as At-chan. Although one initially assumes that it's because such a form of address is way too intimate between co-workers, it later turns out that {{spoiler|it's because she herself is in love with him.}}
* ''[[Kirby: Right Back at Ya!]]'': Metaknight addresses Escargon (and Kirby in earlier episodes) with -dono.
** He's also called Metaknight-kyou by nearly everyone, and simply "Kyou" or "Tono" by his subordinates.
** Fumu is referred to as Fumu-sama by [[Dogged Nice Guy|Kine]] (and sometimes Sword or Blade), and as Fumu-tan by her creepy otaku stalkers.
* ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
** [[Large Ham|Kamina]] also refers to himself repeatedly as Kamina-sama.
*** And when he first names Lagann, he uses "Lagann-sama".
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*** "Hime" is actually more a normal word then a honorific, and so is itself able to take honorifics. It's indeed almost always used as "hime-sama".
** In the epilogue, {{spoiler|Simon}} calls the boy ''bozu'' who in turn calls him ''ojiisan''. He's not offended by it since he's in his forties at the time.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' gives an example of using 'kun' on females with Takamichi referring to all his students in this manner. Asuna-kun, Konoe-kun etc.
** Many of Negi's students also refer to him
* In ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'', protagonist Nozomu is called Itoshiki-sensei by his class, which creates some confusion when Kafuka meets his identical twin brother, a doctor, who would also be addressed as "sensei", who she initially confuses for him. The girls address each other as x-chan, and in one instance, when Nozomu's sister is addressed this way by a student who has only met her once, she gives a dirty look. In one episode/chapter, Nozomu "becomes" a high school student again, and is thus addressed as Itoshiki-kun.
* Because his Li persona is so seemingly harmless and [[Adorkable]], Black Shinigami Hei of ''[[Darker than Black]]'' is generally addressed as "Li-kun" by [[Hero Antagonist]] Kirihara when interacting with him in that identity.
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* -me is dropped left and right in ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]''. Even Akari, the resident [[Team Mom]], does not abstain.
** Blastmon also calls Tactimon "Tac-chan". The implications of this are still unclear.
* In the first season of ''[[K-On!]]'', Sawako, who was, at the time, the Light Music Club's advisor but not the teacher of any of the club members
** When Ui tried to impersonate Yui so she could fill in for her sick sister, one of the things that [[Out-of-Character is Serious Business|threw up a flag that something was off]] was that she called Azusa "Azusa-chan" instead of the nickname "Azu-nyan", and
** Ui normally calls her older sister's childhood friend "Nodoka-san" around other people who also do so, but she occassionally lets her formality slip and calls her with a "-chan", such as when it's just the three of them, or when she's congratulating Nodoka on getting into the school of her choice. This latter example confirms Azusa's suspicions that they're like sisters.
** When Nodoka jokingly wonders if Yui and Ui didn't come out in the wrong order, the two briefly play the roles, Yui calling Ui "Onee-chan!", and Ui calling her "wittle Yui-chan".
** When Ritsu is about to give Megumi a gift<ref>a picture of Mio eating with a fork</ref> for bringing study guides, she calls her "-dono".
* Toward the end of ''[[SHUFFLE!]]'', Asa makes Rin stop calling her "Asa-senpai" {{spoiler|after they get into a relationship}}, and he starts calling her "Asa-san" instead.
* In ''[[Bakuman｡]]'', Fukuda finds it odd that Nakai is calling Nizuma, the author for whom they both work as assistants, “-sensei”, even though he's 17 years older than he is; Fukuda tends to use "-shisho" on Nizuma. Mashiro also finds it a bit strange that Takahama, one of his assistants, uses “-sensei” on him, and Takahama starts calling him "Mashiro-san" instead. The main characters are surprised to see that one of their assistants is female (despite having told Miyoshi that they would be male) because Miura used "-kun" on their last names.
* In ''[[Hidamari Sketch]] X365
** When the main characters go to a bathhouse (in both the anime and the manga) they see "masa no yu" written in kanji on the chimney outside. But then they see it written on curtains in hiragana, intended to be read as columns of one letter each (right to left). Yuno and Miyako mistakenly read it as though it were intended to be read horizontally (left to right), i.e. "Yuno-'''sama'''" Yuno is shocked, and Miyako wonders why she's a VIP there.
** Yuno's "-cchi" is sometimes left off when her hair decorations aren't on. One time, Miyako put them in her ''own'' hair, prompting Yuno to call her "Miyacchi?!"
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* [[Keroro Gunsou|Keroro]] refers to everyone in the Hinata family by the respectful honorific ''-dono''. Yes, even Natsumi (who constantly abuses him).
* ''[[Samurai 7]]'' has a very frequent use of -dono, which is preserved in the English dub. One clearly deliberate use of it is that Heihachi will add that to the name of the peasant-born Kikuchiyo when he wants to flatter him.
* During ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' [[Ace Pilot]] Mwu La Flaga addresses newbie Kira Yamato as "Bozu" in the Japanese dub. Kira refers to him as "-sempai".
* Just ''count'' how many times [[Fullmetal Alchemist|Alphonse Elric]] says ''nii-san'' while watching ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist|Brotherhood]].''
* Shinji of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' never uses anything other than ''san''. Even then, he only uses it to adults and never uses honorifics within his own age group. He in turn receives ''kun'' from everyone else. Even Rei who never uses honorifics to anyone but a simple last name + rank addressing.
** Gendo never uses honorifics. The only exception is his old professor, Fuyutsuki, whom he calls "Fuyutsuki-sensei".
** Ritsuko is alternatively called ''hakase'' and ''senpai'' by Maya. The latter is almost never used by anyone else, except Asuka briefly calling Kaji ''senpai'' in episode 8.
*** In the English dub of ''End of Evangelion'', it should be noted that in the {{spoiler|Instrumentality sequence}}, Maya does not say "Senpai! Senpai! Senpai!" as in the original, but rather, repeats her superior's name several times.
** Interestingly, the admiral in episode 8 uses ''kun'' with
*** [[Flat What|What?]]
* While ''[[Steins;Gate]]'' doesn't have any particularly unusual uses of honorifics, there is one scene that bears mentioning: during conversation, [[Tsundere|Kurisu]] casually refers to the protagonist by his first name, Okabe, with no honorific. When he [[Berserk Button|flies into a rage]], she hastily tries to explain that, despite how ''he'' view their relationship (scientist -> assistant), she doesn't actually have any respect for him and is even older by a couple of years. Even though it turns out he's only angry because [[Do Not Call Me "Paul"|she called him "Okabe" rather than "Kyouma"]] and couldn't care less about honorifics, the fact that she was genuinely afraid he was about to start ''beating her over it'' does illustrate just [[Serious Business|how seriously this can be taken over there]].
* In ''[[Mai-Otome]]'', when Yukino calls out "Haruka-chan!" after Haruka falls off a cliff (having forgotten to get permission to activate her GEM from Yukino), Haruka tells her that she "told (her) not to use -chan in public", as Yukino tends to call Haruka "Meister Haruka" or "Brigadier General" when on official business. Mashiro tends to not use honorifics on anyone, but uses "-me" on Nagi after learning about how horrific his plan really is toward the end. Mashiro is also called "Mashiro-chan" by Arika and Mai, but never complains about this.
* In ''[[My-HiME]]'', [[Sweet Polly Oliver|Akira]] is still called "-kun" even after being revealed as a girl. Natsuki is also the only person Shizuru does not use honorifics on, which is a sign of their closeness.
* In ''[[Saint Beast]]'', while the god Zeus is called Zeus-sama by most angels, some of the high-rank angels will use -dono for both Zeus and each other to convey (often sarcastic) respect without belittling their own station. When not making subtle digs at each other they almost always drop honorifics altogether, whether friends or enemies.
* In ''[[G Gundam]]'', Domon used to refer to Master Asia as Shishou since he was his mentor and martial arts teacher, but stopped doing so after Asia's [[Face Heel Turn]]. Since Domon has ''very'' rough speech patterns (he uses ''ore'' and ''omae'' to refer to himself and others, and almost never uses honorifics on people unless they're highly-ranked), he calls Master Asia by full name from then on, which is seen as Domon losing '''all''' of his respect for Asia. {{spoiler|When Domon calls him ''shishou'' again, it's when the old man is actually ''dying'', and Asia himself is very surprised at that fact. [[Tear Jerker|"After all I've done to you... do you still respect me and call me 'master'?]]"}})
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* In ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' the twins, Ai and Makoto, refer to each other without honorifics both pre and post [[Character Development]]. It seems to be a sign of closeness for them.
* In ''[[Futari Ecchi]]'' the young [[Happily Married]] couple Makoto and Yura keep calling each other using the honorific "-san". (Oh, yes, even while having sex!) In one episode Makoto's colleagues at work laugh at this fact, considering it too old-fashioned and possibly a sign of Makoto's submissiveness towards Yura. This makes him try to behave towards Yura like a typical dominant macho Japanese husband, but comically fails at this.
* ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'': The Hitaachin twins often attach "-dono/tono" to [[White Prince|Tamaki's]] name, teasing his status as "King" of the [[Host Club]].
* In ''[[Squid Girl]]'', when the title character isn't called straight "Ika Musume", she's called Ika-neechan (dubbed to "Squid Girlie") by Takeru, and "Ika-chan" ("Squiddie") by her #1 fanfin-girl Sanae, and her best friend Kiyomi.
** Also, when Nagisa is pretending not to be afraid of Ika anymore, she calls her "-senpai".
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* Yuri Tokikago of ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]'' refers to her own fiancé as "Tabuki-kun" rather than his first name, even when no one else is around. It might at first seem like an extension of her [[Ojou]] persona, but late in the series {{spoiler|it turns out to have been foreshadowing of the fact that their relationship is fake, and Tabuki is [[The Beard]] to her}}. She also refers to Ringo as "Ringo-chan", likely due to Ringo's extreme youth {{spoiler|and because she sees her as a borderline [[Replacement Goldfish]] for Momoka, Ringo's dead sister and Yuri's first love [[The Mourning After|whom she's still mourning for]].}}
** Ringo refers to the Takakura boys by name and attaching "-kun", since they're on the same age bracket; she also calls their sister "Himari-chan", since Himari is younger than her. On the other hand, Shouma and Kanba call her "Oginome-san" (likely to be polite {{spoiler|and to keep some distance from her, like they do with almost everyone else}}) and Himari refers to her as "Ringo-chan".
* ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'' gives rather interesting spins on the trope, depending heavily on who is talking. On one hand we have [[Nice Guy]] Tsubasa, male [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] Misaki and [[Princely Young Man]] Misugi, who are rather soft-spoken and refer to their fellow sport boys as "-kun". On the other side of the spectre there's low-class [[Self-Made Man]] Kojiro Hyuuga, who uses ''yobisute'' aka no pronouns with people his age. In the middle there's Genzo Wakabayashi, who also is a [[Princely Young Man]] but, unlike Misugi, tends to use ''yobisute'' with others.
* Hanamichi Sakuragi from ''[[Slam Dunk]]'' uses honorifics (more exactly, "-san") almost exclusively towards women—complete with rather polite speech pattern, indicating his [[Gentle Giant]] side. In regards to his gangster friends, Sakuragi resorts to ''yobisute'' aka referring to them without any pronouns, which exemplifies their [[True Companions]] bond. And towards all other dudes... well, he's [[The Nicknamer]], but some of these nicknames ''do'' include honorifics (male [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] Kogure is "Megane-kun" and [[Heterosexual Life Partners|heterosexual life partner]] Miyagi is "Ryou-chin", both ''very'' affectionate by Sakuragi's standards, while OTOH [[Deadpan Snarker]] ex-[[Delinquent]] Mitsui is "Micchin" specifically to piss Mitsui off.) And if Sakuragi ''absolutely'' has to use the dude's real name, he'll go for ''yobisute''.
* Satoko Houjou from ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' frequently uses the nickname "nii-nii" (derived from O-niisan) when referring to her older brother, {{spoiler|or Keiichii in some arcs}}. This carries over to the English dub without any explanation other than it's extremely cute and endearing.
** She also uses "nee-nee" (derived from O-neesan) when referring to {{spoiler|Shion}} at least once in Kai. (It wasn't dubbed, just noteworthy)
* In ''[[Durarara]]'', Izaya refers to Shizuo as "Shizu-chan" (dubbed as Shizzy) while Shizuo refers to Izaya as "Izaya-kun."
▲* Tsuyu from ''[[My Hero Academia]]'' is somewhat vocal about who she wants to call her by her given name followed by [[Japanese Honorifics|"-chan"]]. Izuku often fails to oblige her, which she often responds to with a request to recalled "Tsuyu-chan". This is typically translated as her requesting to be called Tsu. When Himiko Toga calls Tsuyu "Tsuyu-chan" without permission (or Tsu in the translations), Tsuyu requests Himiko to not do that, as she only wants her friends to call her that.
== Film ==
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