The use of
honorary particles in Japanese (that "san" is probably the best
known) is inevitable in that language, but also a little fuzzy given to many of
you. Their use as a function of politeness is a very strong indication of the
report or the relationship between the interlocutors.
We
therefore propose to revisit the different cases for how to use them.
these
honorary particles are placed after the name of the caller (if his first name,
but the family name first), as in: Sato-san, Kenji-kun, Miyagi-sensei ... Also
keep in mind these particles are highly contextual, so it is difficult to give
absolute rules for their use.
San (さん)
The simplest translation would be "sir" or "madam" (so it is a unisex suffix), but their function is much more than that. "-San" Is for use with someone you respect and with
whom one is not especially close, for example: a colleague or boss, clients, anyone you know little.
This is
somehow the honorific suffix by default, leaving little opportunity for error (but watch anyway). "-San" Is used primarily with the family names, but can append to a
name if it is for example one of your students, or someone new in your social circle.
"San" is also used to name the mountains and volcanoes, such as the Fuji-san.
Kun (君，くん)
It is a
particle at the lowest level of politeness, besides his kanji is the same as
that of "kimi", which means "you / thou" in the familiar
form (especially for those couples in them). "Kun" is used with: a friend,
a classmate, a little brother or a younger boy.
Avoid use
in speaking of a girl, because it is masculinized, unless a close proximity
(Therefore, this provides interesting insights about relationships in some
manga or drama).
"Kun"
is also used a lot in the working relationship between colleagues,
Chan (ちゃん)
"-Chan"
Has a fairly close function "kun", except that it is used mainly with
girls. It's a pretty emotional particle, which works with: a friend, a
classmate, a sister, a baby, a grandmother, a girl or a woman to tell her we find
her cute .
"-Chan"
Can also be used with the boys; from adolescence, it becomes relatively
feminized.
Senpai (先輩、せんぱい)
the person
of a circle that has the most experience in the shared area, for example a
colleague "senior" or a high school senior if you are in second grade.
Generally, he is someone older.
As
"Sensei" is used interchangeably by sex, and do not necessarily
follows the name. You can find the transcript as "sempai." Its
opposite is "Kohai / kouhai" but it is rarely used to talk to
someone.
There are
also some honorific suffixes for the positions of managers in the business,
"Bucho", "Kacho", "shachô" ... which are used as
"senpai".
Sensei (先生、せんせい)
Regardless
of possible errors with "Sensei", which marks the teacher, the
doctor, the martial arts master or a recognized artist, equally with both sexes.
Can be used after a family name or alone.
Sama (様、さま)
show the
difference, respect for senior or valuable people. This is the suffix used to
god ("Kami-sama") or a princess ("Hime-sama") for example.
Dono (殿、どの)
between
"-san" and "-sama" but it's an old suffix that is hardly
found today unless in some administrative notes. it was used the time of the
samurai.
Some notes to finish:
-
It
is very rude of self-talk using some suffix whatsoever;
-
One
can refer to someone close by using his name without suffix;
-
we
generally refers to family members using specific suffixes of their position
(father, sister ...) different depending if it is your family, your partner or
a third person.
