Japanese Honorifics
Aug 12, 2018 22:19:16 GMT -6
Post by Bleach Leader on Aug 12, 2018 22:19:16 GMT -6
Japanese Honorifics:
The Japanese language makes use of honorific suffixes when referring to others in a conversation. These suffixes are attached to the end of names, and are often gender-neutral. Honorific suffixes also indicate the level of the speaker and referred individual's relationship and are often used alongside other components of Japanese honorific speech, called keigo (敬語).
Usage:
Although honorifics are not part of the basic grammar of the Japanese language, they are a fundamental part of the sociolinguistics of Japanese, and proper use is essential to proficient and appropriate speech. Referring to oneself using an honorific, or dropping an honorific when it is required, is a serious faux pas, in either case coming across as clumsy or arrogant.
They can be applied to either the first or last name depending on which is given. In situations where both the first and last names are spoken, the suffix is attached to whichever comes last in the word order.
An honorific is generally used when referring to the person one is talking to (one's interlocutor), or when referring to an unrelated third party in speech. It is dropped, however, by some superiors, when referring to one's in-group, or in formal writing, and is never used to refer to oneself, except for dramatic effect, or some exceptional cases.
Dropping the honorific suffix when referring to one's interlocutor, which is known as to yobisute (呼び捨て), implies a high degree of intimacy and is generally reserved for one's spouse, younger family members, social inferiors (as in a teacher addressing students in traditional arts), and very close friends. Within sports teams or among classmates, where the interlocutors approximately have the same age or seniority, it can be acceptable to use family names without honorifics. Some people of the younger generation, roughly born since 1970, prefer to be referred to without an honorific. However, dropping honorifics is a sign of informality even with casual acquaintances.
When referring to a third person, honorifics are used except when referring to one's family members while talking to a non-family member, or when referring to a member of one's company while talking to a customer or someone from another company—this is the uchi–soto (in-group/out group) distinction. Honorifics are not used to refer to oneself, except when trying to be arrogant (ore-sama), to be cute (-chan), or sometimes when talking to young children to teach them how to address the speaker.
Use of honorifics is correlated with other forms of honorific speech in Japanese, such as use of the polite form (-masu, desu) versus the plain form—using the plain form with a polite honorific (-san, -sama) can be jarring, for instance.
While these honorifics are solely used on proper nouns, these suffixes can turn common nouns into proper nouns when attached to the end of them. This can be seen on words such as 猫ちゃん ("neko-chan") which turns the common noun neko (cat) into a proper noun which would refer solely to that particular cat, while adding the honorific -chan can also mean cute or small.
Common Honorifics:
San
San (さん) (sometimes pronounced han (はん) in Kansai dialect) is the most commonplace honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analog in English are the honorifics "Mr.", "Miss", "Ms.", or "Mrs.", -san is almost universally added to a person's name; "-san" can be used in formal and informal contexts and for both genders. Because it is the most common honorific, it is also the most often used to convert common nouns into proper ones, as seen below.
San may be used in combination with workplace nouns, so a bookseller might be addressed or referred to as honya-san ("bookstore" + san) and a butcher as nikuya-san ("butcher's shop" + san). Married people often refer to their spouse with san.
Due to -san being gender neutral and commonly used, it can be used to refer to people who are not close or whom one does not know. However, it may not be appropriate when using it on someone who is close or when it is clear that other honorifics should be used.
Sama
Sama (様【さま】) is a more respectful version for people of a higher rank than oneself or divine, toward one's guests or customers (such as a sports venue announcer addressing members of the audience), and sometimes toward people one greatly admires. It is seemingly said to be the origin word for "-san" but there is no major evidence otherwise. Deities such as the native Shinto kami and the Christian God, are referred to as kami-sama, meaning "Revered spirit-sama". When used to refer to oneself, sama expresses extreme arrogance (or self-effacing irony), as in praising one's self to be of a higher rank, as with ore-sama (俺様, "my esteemed self").
Sama customarily follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters and in business email.
Sama also appears in such set phrases as omachidō sama ("thank you for waiting"), gochisō sama ("thank you for the meal"), or otsukare sama ("thank you for a good job").
With the exception of the Emperor of Japan, sama can be used to informally address the Empress and other members of the Imperial Family. The Emperor is, however, always addressed as Heika (Your Majesty).
Kun
Kun (君【くん】) is generally used by people of senior status addressing or referring to those of junior status, by anyone addressing or it can be used when referring to men in general, male children or male teenagers, or among male friends. It can be used by males or females when addressing a male to whom they are emotionally attached, or who they have known for a long time. Although it may seem rude in workplaces, the suffix is also used by juniors when referring to seniors in both academic situations and workplaces, more typically when the two people are associated.
Although kun is generally used for boys, it is not a hard rule. For example, kun can be used to name a close personal friend or family member of any gender. In business settings, young female employees are addressed as kun by older males of senior status. It can be used by male teachers addressing their female students.
Kun can mean different things depending on the gender. Kun for females is a more respectful honorific than chan, which implies childlike cuteness. Kun is not only used to address females formally; it can also be used for a very close friend or family member. Calling a female kun is not insulting, and can also mean that the person is respected, although that is not the normal implication. Rarely, sisters with the same name, such as "Miku", may be differentiated by calling one "Miku-chan" and the other "Miku-san" or "-sama", and on some occasions "-kun". Chan and kun occasionally mean similar things. General use of kun for females implies respectful endearment, and that the person being referred to is sweet and kind.
Chan
Chan (ちゃん) is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. It is seemingly said to have come from a "cute" pronouncing of -san (in Japanese, replacing s sounds with ch sounds is seen as cute), although there is no evidence otherwise as this suffix has been used since the early days of ancient Japan. In general, chan is used for babies, young children, close friends, grandparents and sometimes female adolescents. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends, or a youthful woman. Using chan with a superior's name is considered to be condescending and rude.
Although traditionally, honorifics are not applied to oneself, some people adopt the childlike affectation of referring to themselves in the third person using chan (childlike because it suggests that one has not learned to distinguish between names used for oneself and names used by others). For example, a young woman named Kanako might call herself Kanako-chan rather than using a first person pronoun. Chan" is only used between people who have known each other for a long time or who are of the same gender. Otherwise, using this for someone, especially adults, only known for a short period of time, can be seen as offensive.
Tan
Tan (たん) is an even more cute or affectionate variant of "chan". It evokes a small child's mispronunciation of that form of address, or baby talk – similar to how, for example, a speaker of English might use "widdle" instead of "little" when speaking to a baby. Moe anthropomorphisms are often labeled as "-tan", e.g., the commercial mascot Habanero-tan, the manga figure Afghanis-tan or the OS-tans representing operating systems.
Bō
Bō (坊【ぼう】) is another diminutive that expresses endearment. Like "chan", it is used for babies or young children, but is exclusively used for boys instead of girls.
Senpai and kōhai
Senpai (先輩【せんぱい】) is used to address or refer to one's elder colleagues in a school, dojo, or sports club. So at school, the students in higher grades than oneself are senpai. Teachers are not senpai, but rather they are "Sensei." Neither are students of the same or lower grade: they are referred to as kōhai. In a business environment, those with more experience are senpai.
Sensei and hakase
Sensei (先生【せんせい】) (literally meaning "former-born") is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers, and other authority figures. It is used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, such as accomplished novelists, musicians, artists and martial artists. In Japanese martial arts, sensei typically refers to someone who is the head of a dojo. As with senpai, sensei can be used not only as a suffix, but also as a stand-alone title. The term is not generally used when addressing a person with very high academic expertise; the one used instead is hakase (博士【はかせ】) (lit. "Doctor" or "PhD").
Sensei can be used fawningly, and it can also be employed sarcastically to ridicule such fawning. The Japanese media invoke it (rendered in katakana, akin to scare quotes or italics in English) to highlight the megalomania of those who allow themselves to be sycophantically addressed with the term.
Shi
Shi (氏【し】) is used in formal writing, and sometimes in very formal speech, for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker, typically a person known through publications whom the speaker has never actually met. For example, the shi title is common in the speech of newsreaders. It is preferred in legal documents, academic journals, and certain other formal written styles. Once a person's name has been used with shi, the person can be referred to with shi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one person being referred to.
Dono/tono
Tono (殿【との】), pronounced dono (どの) when attached to a name, roughly means "lord" or "master". It does not equate noble status; rather it is a term akin to "milord" or French "monseigneur", and lies below sama in level of respect. This title is not commonly used in daily conversation, but it is still used in some types of written business correspondence, as well as on certificates and awards, and in written correspondence in tea ceremonies. It is also used to indicate that the person referred to has the same (high) rank as the referrer, yet commands respect from the speaker.
Family Honorifics:
Words for family members have two different forms in Japanese. When referring to one's own family members while speaking to a non-family-member, neutral, descriptive nouns are used, such as haha (母) for "mother" and ani (兄) for "older brother". When addressing one's own family members or addressing or referring to someone else's family members, honorific forms are used. Using the suffix -san, as is most common, "mother" becomes okāsan (お母さん) and "older brother" becomes oniisan (お兄さん). The honorifics -chan and -sama may also be used instead of -san, to express a higher level of closeness or reverence, respectively.
The general rule is that a younger family member (e.g., a young brother) addresses an older family member (e.g., a big brother) using an honorific form, while the older family member calls the younger one only by name.
The honorific forms are:
Otōsan (お父さん): father. The descriptive noun is chichi (父).
Ojisan (叔父さん／小父さん／伯父さん): uncle, or also "middle-aged gentleman".
Ojiisan (お祖父さん／御爺さん／お爺さん／御祖父さん): grandfather, or also "male senior-citizen".
Okāsan (お母さん): mother. The descriptive noun is haha (母).
Obasan (伯母さん／小母さん／叔母さん): aunt, or also "middle-aged lady".
Obāsan (お祖母さん／御祖母さん／御婆さん／お婆さん): grandmother, or also "female senior-citizen".
Oniisan (お兄さん): big brother, or also "a young gentleman". The descriptive noun is ani (兄).
Onēsan (お姉さん): big sister, or also "a young lady". The descriptive noun is ane (姉).
Niichan (兄ちゃん) or Niisan (兄さん): when a young sibling addresses his or her own "big brother".
Nēchan (姉ちゃん) or Nēsan (姉さん): when a young sibling addresses his or her own "big sister".
Kāsan (母さん): when a man addresses his own "wife" (the "mother" of their children).
Tōsan (父さん): when a woman addresses her own "husband" (the "father" of their children)
Bāchan (祖母ちゃん): when grandchildren address their "grandma".
Jiichan (祖父ちゃん): when grandchildren address their "grandpa".
The Japanese language makes use of honorific suffixes when referring to others in a conversation. These suffixes are attached to the end of names, and are often gender-neutral. Honorific suffixes also indicate the level of the speaker and referred individual's relationship and are often used alongside other components of Japanese honorific speech, called keigo (敬語).
Usage:
Although honorifics are not part of the basic grammar of the Japanese language, they are a fundamental part of the sociolinguistics of Japanese, and proper use is essential to proficient and appropriate speech. Referring to oneself using an honorific, or dropping an honorific when it is required, is a serious faux pas, in either case coming across as clumsy or arrogant.
They can be applied to either the first or last name depending on which is given. In situations where both the first and last names are spoken, the suffix is attached to whichever comes last in the word order.
An honorific is generally used when referring to the person one is talking to (one's interlocutor), or when referring to an unrelated third party in speech. It is dropped, however, by some superiors, when referring to one's in-group, or in formal writing, and is never used to refer to oneself, except for dramatic effect, or some exceptional cases.
Dropping the honorific suffix when referring to one's interlocutor, which is known as to yobisute (呼び捨て), implies a high degree of intimacy and is generally reserved for one's spouse, younger family members, social inferiors (as in a teacher addressing students in traditional arts), and very close friends. Within sports teams or among classmates, where the interlocutors approximately have the same age or seniority, it can be acceptable to use family names without honorifics. Some people of the younger generation, roughly born since 1970, prefer to be referred to without an honorific. However, dropping honorifics is a sign of informality even with casual acquaintances.
When referring to a third person, honorifics are used except when referring to one's family members while talking to a non-family member, or when referring to a member of one's company while talking to a customer or someone from another company—this is the uchi–soto (in-group/out group) distinction. Honorifics are not used to refer to oneself, except when trying to be arrogant (ore-sama), to be cute (-chan), or sometimes when talking to young children to teach them how to address the speaker.
Use of honorifics is correlated with other forms of honorific speech in Japanese, such as use of the polite form (-masu, desu) versus the plain form—using the plain form with a polite honorific (-san, -sama) can be jarring, for instance.
While these honorifics are solely used on proper nouns, these suffixes can turn common nouns into proper nouns when attached to the end of them. This can be seen on words such as 猫ちゃん ("neko-chan") which turns the common noun neko (cat) into a proper noun which would refer solely to that particular cat, while adding the honorific -chan can also mean cute or small.
Common Honorifics:
San
San (さん) (sometimes pronounced han (はん) in Kansai dialect) is the most commonplace honorific and is a title of respect typically used between equals of any age. Although the closest analog in English are the honorifics "Mr.", "Miss", "Ms.", or "Mrs.", -san is almost universally added to a person's name; "-san" can be used in formal and informal contexts and for both genders. Because it is the most common honorific, it is also the most often used to convert common nouns into proper ones, as seen below.
San may be used in combination with workplace nouns, so a bookseller might be addressed or referred to as honya-san ("bookstore" + san) and a butcher as nikuya-san ("butcher's shop" + san). Married people often refer to their spouse with san.
Due to -san being gender neutral and commonly used, it can be used to refer to people who are not close or whom one does not know. However, it may not be appropriate when using it on someone who is close or when it is clear that other honorifics should be used.
Sama
Sama (様【さま】) is a more respectful version for people of a higher rank than oneself or divine, toward one's guests or customers (such as a sports venue announcer addressing members of the audience), and sometimes toward people one greatly admires. It is seemingly said to be the origin word for "-san" but there is no major evidence otherwise. Deities such as the native Shinto kami and the Christian God, are referred to as kami-sama, meaning "Revered spirit-sama". When used to refer to oneself, sama expresses extreme arrogance (or self-effacing irony), as in praising one's self to be of a higher rank, as with ore-sama (俺様, "my esteemed self").
Sama customarily follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters and in business email.
Sama also appears in such set phrases as omachidō sama ("thank you for waiting"), gochisō sama ("thank you for the meal"), or otsukare sama ("thank you for a good job").
With the exception of the Emperor of Japan, sama can be used to informally address the Empress and other members of the Imperial Family. The Emperor is, however, always addressed as Heika (Your Majesty).
Kun
Kun (君【くん】) is generally used by people of senior status addressing or referring to those of junior status, by anyone addressing or it can be used when referring to men in general, male children or male teenagers, or among male friends. It can be used by males or females when addressing a male to whom they are emotionally attached, or who they have known for a long time. Although it may seem rude in workplaces, the suffix is also used by juniors when referring to seniors in both academic situations and workplaces, more typically when the two people are associated.
Although kun is generally used for boys, it is not a hard rule. For example, kun can be used to name a close personal friend or family member of any gender. In business settings, young female employees are addressed as kun by older males of senior status. It can be used by male teachers addressing their female students.
Kun can mean different things depending on the gender. Kun for females is a more respectful honorific than chan, which implies childlike cuteness. Kun is not only used to address females formally; it can also be used for a very close friend or family member. Calling a female kun is not insulting, and can also mean that the person is respected, although that is not the normal implication. Rarely, sisters with the same name, such as "Miku", may be differentiated by calling one "Miku-chan" and the other "Miku-san" or "-sama", and on some occasions "-kun". Chan and kun occasionally mean similar things. General use of kun for females implies respectful endearment, and that the person being referred to is sweet and kind.
Chan
Chan (ちゃん) is a diminutive suffix; it expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. It is seemingly said to have come from a "cute" pronouncing of -san (in Japanese, replacing s sounds with ch sounds is seen as cute), although there is no evidence otherwise as this suffix has been used since the early days of ancient Japan. In general, chan is used for babies, young children, close friends, grandparents and sometimes female adolescents. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends, or a youthful woman. Using chan with a superior's name is considered to be condescending and rude.
Although traditionally, honorifics are not applied to oneself, some people adopt the childlike affectation of referring to themselves in the third person using chan (childlike because it suggests that one has not learned to distinguish between names used for oneself and names used by others). For example, a young woman named Kanako might call herself Kanako-chan rather than using a first person pronoun. Chan" is only used between people who have known each other for a long time or who are of the same gender. Otherwise, using this for someone, especially adults, only known for a short period of time, can be seen as offensive.
Tan
Tan (たん) is an even more cute or affectionate variant of "chan". It evokes a small child's mispronunciation of that form of address, or baby talk – similar to how, for example, a speaker of English might use "widdle" instead of "little" when speaking to a baby. Moe anthropomorphisms are often labeled as "-tan", e.g., the commercial mascot Habanero-tan, the manga figure Afghanis-tan or the OS-tans representing operating systems.
Bō
Bō (坊【ぼう】) is another diminutive that expresses endearment. Like "chan", it is used for babies or young children, but is exclusively used for boys instead of girls.
Senpai and kōhai
Senpai (先輩【せんぱい】) is used to address or refer to one's elder colleagues in a school, dojo, or sports club. So at school, the students in higher grades than oneself are senpai. Teachers are not senpai, but rather they are "Sensei." Neither are students of the same or lower grade: they are referred to as kōhai. In a business environment, those with more experience are senpai.
Sensei and hakase
Sensei (先生【せんせい】) (literally meaning "former-born") is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers, and other authority figures. It is used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, such as accomplished novelists, musicians, artists and martial artists. In Japanese martial arts, sensei typically refers to someone who is the head of a dojo. As with senpai, sensei can be used not only as a suffix, but also as a stand-alone title. The term is not generally used when addressing a person with very high academic expertise; the one used instead is hakase (博士【はかせ】) (lit. "Doctor" or "PhD").
Sensei can be used fawningly, and it can also be employed sarcastically to ridicule such fawning. The Japanese media invoke it (rendered in katakana, akin to scare quotes or italics in English) to highlight the megalomania of those who allow themselves to be sycophantically addressed with the term.
Shi
Shi (氏【し】) is used in formal writing, and sometimes in very formal speech, for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker, typically a person known through publications whom the speaker has never actually met. For example, the shi title is common in the speech of newsreaders. It is preferred in legal documents, academic journals, and certain other formal written styles. Once a person's name has been used with shi, the person can be referred to with shi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one person being referred to.
Dono/tono
Tono (殿【との】), pronounced dono (どの) when attached to a name, roughly means "lord" or "master". It does not equate noble status; rather it is a term akin to "milord" or French "monseigneur", and lies below sama in level of respect. This title is not commonly used in daily conversation, but it is still used in some types of written business correspondence, as well as on certificates and awards, and in written correspondence in tea ceremonies. It is also used to indicate that the person referred to has the same (high) rank as the referrer, yet commands respect from the speaker.
Family Honorifics:
Words for family members have two different forms in Japanese. When referring to one's own family members while speaking to a non-family-member, neutral, descriptive nouns are used, such as haha (母) for "mother" and ani (兄) for "older brother". When addressing one's own family members or addressing or referring to someone else's family members, honorific forms are used. Using the suffix -san, as is most common, "mother" becomes okāsan (お母さん) and "older brother" becomes oniisan (お兄さん). The honorifics -chan and -sama may also be used instead of -san, to express a higher level of closeness or reverence, respectively.
The general rule is that a younger family member (e.g., a young brother) addresses an older family member (e.g., a big brother) using an honorific form, while the older family member calls the younger one only by name.
The honorific forms are:
Otōsan (お父さん): father. The descriptive noun is chichi (父).
Ojisan (叔父さん／小父さん／伯父さん): uncle, or also "middle-aged gentleman".
Ojiisan (お祖父さん／御爺さん／お爺さん／御祖父さん): grandfather, or also "male senior-citizen".
Okāsan (お母さん): mother. The descriptive noun is haha (母).
Obasan (伯母さん／小母さん／叔母さん): aunt, or also "middle-aged lady".
Obāsan (お祖母さん／御祖母さん／御婆さん／お婆さん): grandmother, or also "female senior-citizen".
Oniisan (お兄さん): big brother, or also "a young gentleman". The descriptive noun is ani (兄).
Onēsan (お姉さん): big sister, or also "a young lady". The descriptive noun is ane (姉).
Niichan (兄ちゃん) or Niisan (兄さん): when a young sibling addresses his or her own "big brother".
Nēchan (姉ちゃん) or Nēsan (姉さん): when a young sibling addresses his or her own "big sister".
Kāsan (母さん): when a man addresses his own "wife" (the "mother" of their children).
Tōsan (父さん): when a woman addresses her own "husband" (the "father" of their children)
Bāchan (祖母ちゃん): when grandchildren address their "grandma".
Jiichan (祖父ちゃん): when grandchildren address their "grandpa".