Japanese Honorifics: Difference between revisions

: A term of great respect, one step higher than ''-san''. In fantasy or historical contexts, it's generally translated as "lord"/"lady" or a similar term, but since modern English really has no honorific expressing such extreme deference, Mr. or Ms. usually has to do. In situations where there isn't a massive gap in social status between the speaker and the person being addressed, the use of ''-sama'' can border on grovelling. However, it has some standard uses: it's a flattering way for a business to address its customers and clients; it's used when addressing letters to friends; and a young woman may playfully use it for a guy she has a massive crush on.

: 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 ½]]'', Washu in ''[[Tenchi Muyo!]]'', etc.). The only place it's still more or less widely used is the military, cf. "kisama".

: An even more diminutive variant of ''-chan''. Most commonly used by young girls who are very close friends. This is often contracted to make it easier to roll off the tongue, for instance "Yukari-chin" would become "Yukarin".

: Similar to ''-sensei'', but limited to certain traditional Japanese arts and crafts, including martial arts. When used as a stand-alone word, it's usually translated as "master". It also denotes ''extreme'' respect from the speaker to their target; this is lampshaded in ''[[Naruto]]'' and ''[[G Gundam]]''.

: Used when addressing an academic whose expertise is VERY''very'' high. Technically this means "Doctor", but in practice it's actually reserved for even higher ranks and is more or less equivalent to addressing someone as "''Professor''". On the other hand there's little hard and fast rules in this area and the correct usage depends more on the personal preferences of the addressee.

: Literally refers to one's uncle or aunt respectively, but also used to refer to middle-aged adults with whom the speaker is already acquainted. Changing it to ''-jichan'' or ''-bachan'' is like saying Aunty"Auntie". Not seen as insulting unless the person is sensitive about their age. ([[Oba-san|A woman under 30 is likely to be insulted, though.]]) Be careful with how long you draw out the ''i'' and ''a'' sounds, lest this suffix become...

: Literally refers to one's grandfather and grandmother, but also used to refer to much older adults with whom the speaker is already acquainted. Changing it to ''-jiichan'' or ''-baachan'' is like saying "Grampy" or "Granny". Not seen as insulting unless the person is sensitive about their age.

** Likewise, Nabiki invariably refers to Kuno as "Kuno-chan" (translated as "Kuno -baby" in the English dub) as a sign of contempt.