In Japanese, title honorifics are very common and almost always used. However, you should only use them for other people, not yourself. These are often compared to Mr. and Mrs. but this is not what they actually mean; many Japanese words are untranslatable and English equivalents are the only closest.
Unlike English, honorifics don't refer to Mr. or Mrs. but rather add formality, politeness, respect, familiarity, personality, profession, social standing etc. to the person spoken about. Due to the distance that formality can create, some people may ask you to refer to them by first name (forename) without any titled honorifics at all to set a more friendly and casual setting or friendship.
Common Name Enders
| Romaji | Kana | Kanji | |
|---|---|---|---|
| san | さん | ||
| kun | くん | 君 | |
| chan | ちゃん |
さん (~san)
So far, you may have noticed we've already used さん in many examples. This title is very common but isn't the only title that can be used. While this title gets falsely interpreted as Mr. and Mrs., this is not it's real purpose in Japanese, however, it is the closet English equivalent version.
さん is the fail-safe title that can be used with almost anyone, either men or women, young or old, there is no age, race or gender that this title identifies. It is the most common formal honorific in any conversation. You can also use it if you don't know which other title to use.
Here are some guidelines to help you follow how to use さん:
- さん, as with any title, is used after a persons family name (surname). However, if you get to know someone very well like a friend or have permission from that person, you may add さん to the their first name (forename).
- さん can be used for any gender and any age.
- さん as you have noticed, is used with family roles.
- If you don't know what title to use for someone, さん is the fail-safe that works in almost all situations.
- さん shows respect to someone, even with people of higher status than you.
- In schools, さん is usually used to refer to girls while boys get referred to as くん instead.
- Most Japanese people will use さん with foreigners and know first names are used.
- When referring to companies, groups, teams, communities and so on, you may use さん as a way of being respectful and polite (e.g: Googleさん).
- You may see さん used for job roles too.
- さん isn't just restricted to people or organisations, it may also be used to refer to animals or non-living objects to add cuteness or playfulness when talking to young children and babies.
ちゃん (~chan)
This is a title that cannot be used to just refer to anyone; it may come across very rude or just plain disrespectful. Because it is casual, do not use it for people who are higher in status than you (e.g: doctor, teacher, employer and so on).
- ちゃん is more commonly used when referring to girls or young women.
- ちゃん can be used with family roles as we have seen in a previous lesson except for parents, though children may still use it for dad and mum.
- ちゃん is more commonly used with first names (forenames), especially if your names has been shortened (e.g: Shinobu => Shino-chan or Shi-chan).
- When used with a family name (surname), ちゃん adds a nickname like impression.
- If someone has given you a nickname ending with ちゃん, it maybe okay to also refer to yourself with that nickname around that same person.
- Using ちゃん can be used to refer to someone as cute and is generally used among people you are close to, including pets or babies.
くん (~kun)
As another casual name ender, くん cannot be used to just refer to anyone.
- くん is more commonly used when referring to boys or men.
- くん is usually used for people lower in status than you, don't use it for anyone of higher status.
- くん can come after either first name or family name.
- くん indicates a level of closeness between girls referring to each other.
DO NOT use these titles when referring to yourself. You may sometimes hear or see it in Anime and Manga but it really is not common at all and may make you look very silly (or even self-important).
Formal Name Enders
| Romaji | Kana | Kanji | |
|---|---|---|---|
| F | sensei | せんせい | 先生 |
| F | sama | さま | 様 |
せんせい / 先生 (~sensei)
This title is generally used for important people you look up to such as a teacher and is commonly used with other professionals of high knowledge or skills.
- せんせい is the title used to refer to professionals such as teachers, doctors, lawyers and so on.
- You may find せんせい being used casually to refer to a close friend, especially one who supported and taught you a lot about something.
さま / 様 (~sama)
Using the title さま is super formal and superior; you may find that you will almost never use it. However, there maybe times you will use it or even see it used.
- さま is used with family names (surnames) or full names.
- さま can be used for both superiors and inferiors. It may even be used for equals and inferiors.
- It may be rude to use どの instead of さま but it is not rude to use さま instead of どの.
- Hospital nameplates are likely to use さま to refer to patients.
- E-mails and documents addressed to people outside a company should use さま even if the person you are sending to has a lower status than you.
- さま is very commonly used with nobility, especially the Royal Family.
- Some political parties, organizations and the Imperial Family do not use さま with Royalty or even the Emperor (King).
Some of this usage maybe familiar if your from the UK, where you may find government letters addressed to you such as from a hospital or doctors surgery as "Lady" or "Master" and businesses using "Dear".
Please note where we have used さま to help assist your reading of Hiragana, the Kanji 様 is actually usually used officially. Same for どの being 殿
Other Name Enders
| Romaji | Kana | Kanji | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tan | たん、タン | ||
| rin | りん | ||
| dono | どの | 殿 |
たん、タン (~tan)
This title is not that common and has limited usage. It's said that たん is a mispronunciation of ちゃん among babies or very young children, though there is not much proof to validate this claim.
- たん is more commonly used when referring to girls
- たん is a common title for cutesy or moe Anime girls.
- たん is often seen on social media, mainly due to the character limits of some social media platforms.
- たん may be used to refer to nerds or enthusiasts (also known by the Americanised word "otaku").
- Referring to yourself with たん is very rare and only used by girls and young women. Also, some hostesses and prostitutes may use it too.
りん (~rin)
This title is very uncommon and may seem outdated as it was popularised in the 1980's, though it is still used today, just not as much.
- りん is generally only used among girls.
- りん is only used as part of nicknames.
- りん is considered extremely casual so only use it to those who are very close friends.
どの / 殿 (~dono)
This title is of very old usage and used to refer to nobles or high-ranking people (lord's and lady's). Eventually, it became common among commoners. Its original use is now replaced by さま but you may still see どの still in use despite been such an old title.
- Generally, どの is used after full names.
- どの is generally used as an honorific title from a person in a higher position, such as an officer or superior, to a person of lower or equal ranking.
- Despite its history, 殿 is still used in some official documents issued by government offices.
- 殿 may be seen on official certificates.
- It may be rude to use どの instead of さま but it is not rude to use さま instead of どの.
- Do not use どの for people outside a company. E-mails and documents addressed to people outside the company should use さま even if the person you are sending to has a lower status than you.
- どの can be used in colloquial language but in business, どの is an expression exclusively for written language. Do not use it in conversations.
- Do not place どの after a job title. どの can only be used after a personal name.
- どの may be used offensively to refer to someone who thinks they are highly special or important.
- If you're not sure if to use どの, it's best to use さま instead.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs had made a statement in 1952 that the use of どの should be unified with さま. However, many public offices and local governments still use どの to address people.
Please note where we have used どの to help assist your reading of Hiragana, the Kanji 殿 is actually usually used officially. Same for さま being 様
Additional Notes
There are many, many more titles that can be used but that would be too many to show here. As you learn more from reading and listening to real Japanese, you'll come across some others so you can look them up or ask online whenever you need to know.
Some words may have different meanings or expressions so check out online dictionaries such as jisho.org or jisho.org to find out more.
DO NOT use titles to refer to yourself. You may sometimes hear or see it in Anime and Manga but it really is not common at all and may make you look very silly (or even self-important or narcissistic).