It doesn't really matter whether or not you use a hyphen between a name and an honorific when romanizing Japanese, although it is common practice. It is the most common one and it is used not only when addressing someone, but also when talking about someone who is not present. Honorifics change based on who you are talking to as much as who you are talking about. It is used by superior to inferior or among equals. As such it is possible for two ‘sans’ to be present in one name; one as the reading ‘san’ for mountain and the other - always last - as the honorific. Some of these words are not as common and others are hopelessly outdated. You even use it to call or refer to your female classmates even at elementary school age, unless you are very close to that person. It is not common for Japanese to address people just by their first name without any honorific title unless they are your own child or your very best friend. “Chan” is used either for children or for female friends. Kyaku means guests. Polite expressions must follow the situation and the relationships with others. All that said, “you shouldn’t use otou-san for talking about your own dad to other people” is an admittedly old-school way of thinking, and a guideline that younger Japanese people are increasingly less likely to adhere to or worry about. Jordan-sama. like you wouldn't say oto-chan (hopefully). Without the prefix, it becomes ka-san, which is more like “mom” than “mother.” Keep this i… San is used both for men and for women, and it does not distinguish between married or unmarried, so it means … “Ni-hao” (“Hello” in Chinese) A recent Japanese tourist to Italy said that she was surprised … A lot of non-Japanese seem to like to use -san for everyone they think is Japanese, even if the mail is in English and you're not referring to them that way. You could say “Sama” is a very formal version of “san”. They also use the term “Okyaku-sama” to refer to customers , guests and passengers in general. e.g. Japanese Honorifics 101. Senpai is used to address your superiors. For example, the word for mother, with honorifics, is oka-san. The origin of san is as a simplification of a more formal word, There are several other honorific titles in Japanese. San is one of many honorific titles in Japanese. as well as "yama" in Japanese. Adding the honorific prefix “o” at the beginning adds more respect. Direct translation of sensei is a teacher. "-San" is used primarily with last names, but can be used with first names, for example one of your students or someone new in your social circle. In business settings junior women may also be addressed askunby superiors. If you have some experience with Japanese, you may have noticed that lots of Japanese titles start with “o.” An “o” at the beginning of a Japanese title is usually an honorific prefix. Watch any Japanese movie or show, and you’ll witness plenty of ways the Japanese show respect to one another. I’d love to hear from you! But why do Japanese always say san? This is the last sentence of an email I received after pitching my proposal to a professor at the university where I wanted to do research, and my ego still hurts a little bit when I look at it. Written by Maciamo on 9 May 2004. Using Japanese Honorific Titles (E.g. God (Kami) is always referred to as “Kami-sama”. respect to the person being mentioned. I'm both an editor and a cyclist. For male classmates, you would use “kun”. Learn how your comment data is processed. It may sound funny, but we feel it is rude not to add some honorific to our valued business partners. referred to as Tanaka-san, with the san following the name. Please leave comments. Confused…? Required fields are marked *. For example, when you are talking about your client company, you would add “san” after their company name. "Chan" (written ちゃん) is the diminutive form of "san", and is used for people you are familiar with, comfortable with, close with, or otherwise know well. In doubt, better stay safe and go with the person’s family name. Just like you call your teachers at school with Mr. or Ms., you add “sensei” after the family name of the teacher at schools in Japan. has a variety of other titles, all added after the person's name. You will … What is the difference between san, sama, kun and chan? Toyota-sensei. The word san in Japanese names is an honorary title used to show respect to the person being mentioned. When Japanese people call someone, using “sama（様）” is safe. for more about But Japanese has lots of other choices. San (さん) San is the most common form of honorific suffix, and also the safest one when you are not sure which suffix to choose.It can be translated into “Ms.” and “Mr.” in English. I think that your Japanese is good enough to understand how you should address a professor. The word “san” is a courtesy title similar to "Mr." in English. It's also used a lot more by women than men. in the name of mountains, which coincidentally are also called "san" xD. name. The word san in Japanese names is an honorary title used to show San is the most commonly used respectful title placed someone’s first or last name, regardless of their gender or marital status. Oto-san just looks wierd because otosan is usually said as such. What does “sensei” mean? Chanちゃん. Edamame – health benefits of amazingly nutritious green soybeans, Sushi recipe and dashi stock: mouth-watering source of umami in Japanese cuisine, Real Escape games in Tokyo – Tokyo Mystery Circus. An important form of Japanese courtesy is knowing how to refer to people. In Japan, when addressing someone formally, you use the surname/family name. with both male and female names, and with either surnames or given names. See Ben Bullock Chan. A Japanese honorific title is a suffix that goes after the person’s name as in “Satou (name) san (honorific)” to raise this person up. Kun (君) is informal and mostly used for males, such as boys orjuniors at work. Something as seemingly innocuous as saying hello at a party comes with a strict set of social rules. Contrarily to what many foreigners and Japanese alike usually think, "san" is not the equivalent of "mister" or "mrs". By observing the proper Japanese email etiquette in a business setting, you prove your willingness to understand Japanese culture and—by extension—your adaptability to a company's needs. It is gender neutral and it can be used to your equals. Also, don’t forget to join the Facebook group. in English. Honorifics are not a grammatical matter, so you won’t find any solid chapter on them in a Japanese grammar book.. Knowing what they are is very important to understanding Japanese culture. Japanese business people almost never address each other by their first names. Untranslatable. yea, use the hyphen. Shacho is for a CEO or president and bucho is for a department head. See What are the origins of the san suffix for names? In some cases, I have even pointed out that I was born and raised in the same state as them (meaning I am technically American with a US passport), they still call me [first name]-san because I'm Asian looking. This is probably one of the most frequently asked questions I get about Japan from tourists and friends alike. -san is a safe bet because you are both adults. But don't do that if the other party uses 'san' after your name. It doesn’t imply respect, thus it is not “honorific”, but it is classified as a honorific in Japanese. Miku-chan. If so then your concierge should definitely be a female, and so you may like to call her like Nishio-san/Asako-san: ‘san’ is an horrific to be affixed to any family name, and sometimes to any first name (depending on how close you are; if intimate then ‘chan’ takes its place, which is comparable to ‘-ie’ as in Charlie). If there’s one thing to know about Japanese culture and language, it’s that everything is extra polite. Yes, absolutely. San is There was a character called “sensei”. See What is the name of Mount Fuji? e.g. sama. used both for men and for women, and it does not distinguish between Or just use the first name with no honorific if you're being informal. The other thing to remember is that when it is used for your first name, that can mean the person feels close to you, but is not comfortable calling you just by the name without “san”. San in names is not related to the san San is one of many honorific titles in Japanese. In the Diet of Japan, diet members and ministers are called kunby the chairperso… San, Sama, Kun and Chan) In Japan, most of the time people call each other by their family name rather than their given names. First of all, watch out for preconceived ideas. Schoolteachers typically address male students using kun, whilefemale students are addressed as san or chan. It is not used with one's own name. We will go over the most common ones that are in use today. Maybe you’ve heard a Japanese mom calling their kid’s name with “chan” attached after their name. Sensei is also used for people who are not teachers: Politicians, lawyers and medical doctors. In service industry, it is a manner to call a customer with honorific title “sama” attached to his/her family name. e.g. Add “san” after the person’s last name. or use the discussion forum / Privacy policy. What is a differnce between manga-portrait and anime-portrait? 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. 1. Microsoft-san, Apple-san. I write…, How to take a bike on a train in Japan: thank you for this advice. Why does Mr.Miyagi say “Daniel san” in Karate Kid? Direct object particle を 1. indicates the object, direct object marking particle (JP1: Verb1) 本 … Why is a Shinto Shrine standing on a Buddhist Temple’s ground in Japan? The usages of all the different words for “I” is separated into two categorie… This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Please reword this email before I forward it to the department head.”. Sometimes it is used for company names, too. In Japanese family names the kanji for mountain (山) is sometimes read as ‘san’ - it’s why Mt.Fuji is called ‘Fuji-san’ and not ‘Fuji-yama.’. For example, imagine you are at your office with your colleague talking about sending email to your client, Mr.Suzuki. It conveys respect and it is always correct to use it regardless of your position in relationships. So in environments with a lot of Japanese speakers, it is also common for even English speakers to add san to … I am not aware of any first names that include ‘san’ and it is uncommon to use the honorific with … Well, maybe not for little children (chan is more natural in that case), but in most cases, you’ll be fine with using san. Although senpai is perfectly fine if you look up to her. married or unmarried, so it means all of "Mr", "Mrs", "Miss" and "Ms." Your email address will not be published. This small mistake was considered cute and stayed in the language. San comes after the name, so a person with the surname Tanaka is Names Attaching the honorific “-san” after the recipient's name is common courtesy, similar to addressing someone in America as Mister or Miss. It is used to refer to young women you’re close with, children, babies, a grandmother or even an animal you’re especially fond of. But it will help you to know the differences. What about other honorific titles? It is used by superiors to inferiors, by males ofthe same age and status to each other, and in addressing malechildren. Your email address will not be published. They bow, have set phrases to show appreciation, and add -さん ( -san) to the end of names. Are they the same thing? Especially in regards to the Japanese sense of politeness and accepted behavior. It is not used with one's own On this blog, I post insightful stories about Japanese culture and useful information for travelling in Japan. The Japanese numerals are the number names used in Japanese.In writing, they are the same as the Chinese numerals, and the grouping of large numbers follows the Chinese tradition of grouping by 10,000. San comes after the name, so a person with the surname Tanaka is referred to as Tanaka-san, with the san following the name. San (さん), sometimes pronounced han (はん) in the Kyoto area, is the most common honorific and is a title of respect similar to \"Mr.\", \"Miss\", \"Mrs.\", or \"Ms.\" However, in addition to being used with people's names, it is also employed in a variety of other ways.San is used in combination with workplace nouns, such that a bookseller might be addressed or referred to as honya-san (\"bookstore\" + san), and a butcher as nikuya-san (\"butcher shop\" + san).San is so… And if you ever want to work in Japan, it is important to learn the different Japanese honorifics (san, sama, kun, chan, dono). If you have questions, corrections, or comments, please contact Native Japanese speakers who are speaking in English frequently add san to the names of the people they are addressing. Coming back to Karate Kid. theres really no correct way of doing it, though, but words like okasan, obasan, jiisan, and otosan are usually written as such because they are established as such. In kids’ animation “LEGO Ninjago”, there is a character called “Sensei Wu”. Kyoto International Manga Museum – Portrait Corner. It is the most common one and it is used not only when addressing someone, but also when talking about someone who is not present. Use it for or among … Why do so many people in Japan wear face masks? 'Mister' is fine for someone you don't know, but it's kind of stilted in normal English usage, so 'san' might be better. You would say “I am going to send an email to Suzuki-san.” When you are not close to that person and want to pay respect to the person, it is safe if you add “san” after their family name. This is a kind of default honorific, which leaves little chance for error (but watch out anyway). Even a spider can be called "kumo-san" (especially by … The -chan suffix is in many ways the “feminine” equivalent of -kun. Ever wondered why Japanese people address people with san after their name? For example, "san" can also be used for animals, and not just for cats and dogs, but for any animal. 3. papa / パパ 名前 【な・まえ】 – name There are many ways to say “I” in Japanese. Learning how to make formal introductions in Japanese is vital if you plan to visit the country, do business there, or even take part in ceremonies such as weddings. Sometimes your boss would address you with  your family name  plus kun. King (Oh) is always referred to as “Oh-sama”. Dono is used in business documents and letters. So in your example, Miyamoto is a Japanese family name, and calling someone Miyamoto-san would be the equivalent of calling someone Mr. Drew. The tricky part is that it is not equivalent to Mr. Just Use “san”. The Japanese language makes use of honorific suffixes and prefixes when referring to others in a conversation. e.g. The following sections will introduce the differences between and usage of several common Japanese honorifics. Removing the “o” makes the title more colloquial, and in some cases, rude. She might prefer -chan when with friends but -san … for full details. You may be already using san to address your Japanese counterpart just because it seems polite to follow their way. For example, imagine you are at your office with your colleague talking about sending email to your client, Mr.Suzuki. Most of my friends call me “Tomoko-san” for this reason. Apart from san, and sama, Japanese What is the meaning of san? Using last names is the default address when you don’t know someone, and it is mandatory in business relationships. Use the person's last name. It gives very courteous feelings. Two pronunciations are used: the Sino-Japanese (on'yomi) readings of the Chinese characters and the Japanese yamato kotoba (native words, kun'yomi readings). Lastname-san is a fairly normal way to address someone you have a work relationship with. When meeting people in Japan, be sure to use the appropriate formal title. What does san mean? So, if it's a portrait on paper drawn in Japanese manga style, it…. mountain naming in Japanese. This is the most familiar honorific and is supposedly derived from children who couldn’t say “San” properly. Tomoko is the editor OR…, Anime(animation) is graphics that are in motion. And last, chichi is the word used in the Japanese term for father’s day, Chichi no Hi. Suffixes are attached to the end of names, and are often gender-specific, while prefixes are attached to the beginning of many nouns. Hi Mike, Sorry it took so long to notice your comment.