turning japanese (lessons!)
Time for Japanese lessons! Today, I’ll discuss Japanese name suffixes. *aherm* Mel-chan would be what I’d like everyone to call me if I were Japanese, or if everyone else would be Japanese. The "chan" part is a commonly used suffix the Japanese usually add to another person’s name to indicate a certain level of respect or formality. Like here, we have Miss or Mister. Not using a name suffix would show intimacy or casualness or a display of closeness between two people. Or, it could also mean that the two people aren’t Japanese. Whatever.
There are lots of name suffixes that are commonly used. Here are a couple that I just read about:
- chan. It is usually used for kids, pets, boyfriends, girlfriends, or for anyone you feel particularly close to. It is diminutive, so be careful not to use it on older people.
Example: My older friends can call me Mel-chan.
- kun. It is generally used for men in a casual manner.
Example: Shikamaru-kun (he’s my dude friend)
- san. It is very neutral (meaning, it doesn’t necessarily hint of actual closeness with the person) and respectful, like "Miss" or "Mister". Also generally used when addressing older people.
Example: If Shikamaru would be someone I don’t really know, or someone I’m not particularly close to, I’d call him Shikamaru-san.
- sama. Very respectful. Indicates humility by the user. Used to address a God, royalty, or just to be extremely polite.
Example: I would never call Shikamaru with this. Actually, I don’t think I’d be calling anyone with this, unless I were a slave or something. Then, I’d call my master "[name]-sama". Gets? That’s because this shows EXTREME humility, people. EXTREME humility. That’s why you’d call God with this. If I’m not mistaken, "kami" is the term for God/deities in Japanese. So, if I were Japanese, I’d call God by, Kami-sama. Or, Kamisama.
- senpai. Used to refer to another student who is your senior. It’s actually not restricted to students only. There are certain instances that it can be used in something else, as long as it refers to someone your senior in SOMETHING.
Example: If I were still a student, I’d address students in a higher year level as "senpai". It could be used alone, or with a name, like "[name]-senpai".
- sensei. Most familiar, I think. According to what I’m reading right now, it refers to a respected professional like a doctor, a lawyer, or a teacher. In my opinion, it is most commonly used with teachers.
Example: I’d call my teacher "sensei", or "[name]-sensei".
And that’s it! Tantananaaan! That concludes today’s Japanese tutorials.
(source: http://people.uleth.ca/~jams.club/glossary.html)
