Post by Nameless God//HeadMaster on Apr 20, 2007 20:44:17 GMT -5
Lesson 1
"~ san" is a title of respect added to a name. It can be used with both male and female names, and with either surnames or given names. It can also be attached to the name of occupations and titles.
Sur name
Yamada-san ~ Mr. Yamada
Given name
Yoko-san ~ Miss. Yoko
Occupation
honya-san ~ bookseller
sakanaya-san ~ fishmonger
Title
Shicho-san ~ Mayor
Oisha-san ~ Doctor
Bengoshi-san ~ Lawyer
"~ kun" is used to address men who are younger or the same age as the speaker. A male might address female inferiors by "~ kun," usually in schools or companies. It can be attached to both surnames and given names. It is less polite than "~ san." It isn't used between women or when addressing one's superiors.
"~ chan" is often attached to children's names when calling them by their given names. It can also be attached to kinship terms in a childish language.
Mika-chan ~ Mika
Ojii-chan ~ Grandpa
Obaa-chan ~ Grandma
Oji-chan ~ Uncle
"~sama" Intead of using 'san', they use 'sama', for someone higher, for example:
Kami-sama ~ God
To make things easier, here you go:
Kun and Chan- are used to adress some aquaintance to a close friend or such. Kun is mostly used on males, and Chan on females.
San- is a bit honorific(the japanese term justifies) then the former. It is used to adress someone who has a higher rank than you.
Dono- though not used anymore, is mostly used in the feudal era(is this right?) to address a LandLord or Daimyo.
Sama- is the most honorific word. Of course, it denotes very very high acquaintance on somebody.
Lesson 2
Relatives ((I'll add more info later))
Onee-chan- Elder sister
Other
San, sama- Mr, Mrs, Miss
Dono- Sir, Madam
Kyou- Lord, Lady, Dame
In everyday life, "san" is the most common suffix. "-chan" is a more affectionate term, used mainly with friends, family members and children. "-tan" is a kind of slang version. "-kun" is usually reserved for boys or young men, but can sometimes be used for girls or young women too. There is also "-shi", which is an intermediary form between "san" and "sama" in terms of politeness, and is mostly used for professionals like engineers or lawyers.
Then comes "sensei", which is used for anybody with a knowledge superior to ours. It is most common for doctors, teachers and professors, but can also be used for politicians, martial arts masters, etc. Contrarily to other suffixes so far, "sensei" can be used alone, without a name before it, just like "doctor" or "professor" in English. So, one can say "Nomura-sensei" or just "Sensei", like one could say in English "Professor Nomura" or "Professor".
"Sempai" æ”y is another very common way of addressing someone with more experience or a hierarchical superior. It can be used alone or after a name, like "sensei".
Flexible politeness
It is possible in Japanese to change the suffix, and politeness level attached to it, you use with one particular person. That means that "politeness" in Japanese is situational and not a fixed status given to someone like in most European languages. You could call a friend or relative alterning the suffix "-chan", "-kun", "-san", "-sama", or even "sensei" if that person is in a position of greater knowledge than you in that situation and teaching you something. A husband teaching his wife how to drive a car or use a computer could be called "sensei" by her at that particular time. She could very well change suffix in the course of the same conversation.
Impolite suffixes
Other less polite suffixes also exist. Their intensity depend a lot on the intonation and context, like "-baka" ”nŽ, or the ever ruder "-yarou" –ì˜Y (and combination "bakayarou", which is however normally used alone as an insult). So, "kyaku-yarou" would be a very impolite way of talking about a customer someone strongly dislikes. These can also be used individually, like in "ano yarou !" ("this a*shole !") or "baka !" ("mor@n" !)
Lesson 3
-To, -do, -fu, -ken are all suffixes used for prefectures
-Gun is the suffix used to represent a county
-Shi is the suffix used for a city
-Cho is the suffix used to identify a town
-Mura or -son are the suffixes used to denote a village
-Ku represents a ward
-Chome often represents a block or area number
-Ban can be translated to mean number
"~ san" is a title of respect added to a name. It can be used with both male and female names, and with either surnames or given names. It can also be attached to the name of occupations and titles.
Sur name
Yamada-san ~ Mr. Yamada
Given name
Yoko-san ~ Miss. Yoko
Occupation
honya-san ~ bookseller
sakanaya-san ~ fishmonger
Title
Shicho-san ~ Mayor
Oisha-san ~ Doctor
Bengoshi-san ~ Lawyer
"~ kun" is used to address men who are younger or the same age as the speaker. A male might address female inferiors by "~ kun," usually in schools or companies. It can be attached to both surnames and given names. It is less polite than "~ san." It isn't used between women or when addressing one's superiors.
"~ chan" is often attached to children's names when calling them by their given names. It can also be attached to kinship terms in a childish language.
Mika-chan ~ Mika
Ojii-chan ~ Grandpa
Obaa-chan ~ Grandma
Oji-chan ~ Uncle
"~sama" Intead of using 'san', they use 'sama', for someone higher, for example:
Kami-sama ~ God
To make things easier, here you go:
Kun and Chan- are used to adress some aquaintance to a close friend or such. Kun is mostly used on males, and Chan on females.
San- is a bit honorific(the japanese term justifies) then the former. It is used to adress someone who has a higher rank than you.
Dono- though not used anymore, is mostly used in the feudal era(is this right?) to address a LandLord or Daimyo.
Sama- is the most honorific word. Of course, it denotes very very high acquaintance on somebody.
Lesson 2
Relatives ((I'll add more info later))
Onee-chan- Elder sister
Other
San, sama- Mr, Mrs, Miss
Dono- Sir, Madam
Kyou- Lord, Lady, Dame
In everyday life, "san" is the most common suffix. "-chan" is a more affectionate term, used mainly with friends, family members and children. "-tan" is a kind of slang version. "-kun" is usually reserved for boys or young men, but can sometimes be used for girls or young women too. There is also "-shi", which is an intermediary form between "san" and "sama" in terms of politeness, and is mostly used for professionals like engineers or lawyers.
Then comes "sensei", which is used for anybody with a knowledge superior to ours. It is most common for doctors, teachers and professors, but can also be used for politicians, martial arts masters, etc. Contrarily to other suffixes so far, "sensei" can be used alone, without a name before it, just like "doctor" or "professor" in English. So, one can say "Nomura-sensei" or just "Sensei", like one could say in English "Professor Nomura" or "Professor".
"Sempai" æ”y is another very common way of addressing someone with more experience or a hierarchical superior. It can be used alone or after a name, like "sensei".
Flexible politeness
It is possible in Japanese to change the suffix, and politeness level attached to it, you use with one particular person. That means that "politeness" in Japanese is situational and not a fixed status given to someone like in most European languages. You could call a friend or relative alterning the suffix "-chan", "-kun", "-san", "-sama", or even "sensei" if that person is in a position of greater knowledge than you in that situation and teaching you something. A husband teaching his wife how to drive a car or use a computer could be called "sensei" by her at that particular time. She could very well change suffix in the course of the same conversation.
Impolite suffixes
Other less polite suffixes also exist. Their intensity depend a lot on the intonation and context, like "-baka" ”nŽ, or the ever ruder "-yarou" –ì˜Y (and combination "bakayarou", which is however normally used alone as an insult). So, "kyaku-yarou" would be a very impolite way of talking about a customer someone strongly dislikes. These can also be used individually, like in "ano yarou !" ("this a*shole !") or "baka !" ("mor@n" !)
Lesson 3
-To, -do, -fu, -ken are all suffixes used for prefectures
-Gun is the suffix used to represent a county
-Shi is the suffix used for a city
-Cho is the suffix used to identify a town
-Mura or -son are the suffixes used to denote a village
-Ku represents a ward
-Chome often represents a block or area number
-Ban can be translated to mean number