Get to know the Japanese prefixes

When introducing the Japanese respectful speech called keigo, the attention is often focused on verbs construction and the social relations between a speaker and a listener.

Most of you might know that the Japanese honorific prefixes o or go can be added to some nouns. But have you heard what is the name of what we can consider a subdivision of keigo?

 The set expressions frequently heard when in Japan are easy to remember.

–お願いします:o+negai+shimasu(please)

–お待たせしました:o+matase+shimashita(sorry for keeping you waiting)

–ご協力をお願いします: go+kyouryoku+o+negai+shimasu (we ask for your cooperation)

One important group that you can easily remember is the family vocabulary. When referring to somebody else’s family, you should care to place “o” before the noun, changing in the same time, the reading of the kanji

Do not be surprised, if you hear some Japanese saying “o-biru” (おビール, beer) or “o-toire” (おトイレ, toilet), “o-tabako” (おタバコ, tobacco).

	Your Family	Somebody’s else family
Father	Chichi – 父	Otousan – お父さん
Mother	Haha – 母	Okasan – お母さん
Older Sister	Ane – 姉	Onesan – お姉さん
Older Brother	Ani – 兄	Onisan – お兄さん

Prefixes would be quite a challenge, you will find below very common one:

Food, drink:

お菓子 (o-kashi): Sweets

お水 (o-mizu): Water

お薬 (o-kusuri): Medicine

お野菜 (o-yasai): Vegetable

お魚 (o-sakana): Fish

お卵 (o-tamago): Egg

ご飯 (go-han): Rice, Meal

お酒 (o-sake): Alcohol

Words related to a sense of belonging:

お財布 (o-saifu): Wallet

お帽子 (o-boushi): Hat

お写真 (o-shashin): Picture

お車 (o-kuruma): Car

お手紙 (o-tegami): Letter

お時間 (o-jikan): Time

Get to know the Japanese prefixes

12:38:00 AM learn, LEARN JAPANESE

HOW TO introduce yourself IN JAPAN - LEARN JAPANESE

Say nice to meet you  (Hajimemashite), my name is ...

In Japanese, we call 自己 紹 介 jikoshoukai all the regards.

They are of course essential when we meet someone for the first time , whether you are on business or more informal environment.

If you had to remember a word, it would be the introduction of any presentation: は じ め ま し て hadjimémash'té! Which corresponds to our "nice to meet you ".

To introduce yourself , use:

-          (私 は) --- と 申 し ま す (watashi wa) --- to môshimasu 'or' my name is --- "

-          or simply --- --- で す--- dèss', it means  "I am ---".

Depending on the situation we mention either our name or our first name only, or both. Always put the family name first and never use honorific suffix to talk about yourself!

Finish with (ど う ぞ) よ ろ し く (お 願 い し ま す) (Dozo) yoloshiku (onégaïshimass') which, while necessary, is more difficult to translate: we could say "take care of me" .

Following a yoroshiku, the answer is  こ ち ら こ そ (お 願 い し ま す) kotchila kosso (onégaïshimass').

a little more :

In most cases, it is good to tell a little more about yourself to your interviewer.

You can  complete with 私はアメリカ人です (Watashi wa amerikahitodesu) i'm american  , then 私はテキサスに住んでいます (Watashi wa Tekisasu ni sunde imasu ) i live in texas "

To describe his interests, use either:

-         -  趣味 は ---shumi wa  ---  meaning "my  leisure  is / are ---"

-          - に 興味 が あ り ま す --- or kyoumi ga alimass 'which means' my focus is / --- ".

HOW TO introduce yourself IN JAPAN - LEARN JAPANESE

8:51:00 AM JAPAN, learn, LEARN JAPANESE

THE HONOURS SUFFIXES IN JAPANESE - LEARN JAPANESE

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.

THE HONOURS SUFFIXES IN JAPANESE - LEARN JAPANESE

8:45:00 AM JAPANESE, learn