Which Japanese honorific would you address
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Thread Topic: Which Japanese honorific would you address
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San - Commonplace honorific. Used between equals of all ages and gender. It is attached to a name as a title of respect to the person. An English equivalent would be "Mr.", "Miss", or "Mrs."
Sama - Less common. More respectful form of -san and is used for any gender. Used to refer to people who is higher in rank than oneself.
Kun - Used by people who are of a senior status addressing those of a junior status. Also used for male teenagers, students, or friends, or even a family member who is of any gender. It can be used by females to show that they are emotionally attached to the person they use this honorific for.
Chan - Used to express that the person is endearing to whom that uses it. In general, -chan is used for babies, young children, grandparents and teenagers.It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, close friends, any youthful woman, or between friends. Applied to people who have known each other for a long time.
Bo - Bo is another diminutive that expresses endearment. Like "chan", it is used for babies and young children, but is exclusively used for boys instead of girls.
Senpai - It is used to address or refer to one's senior colleagues (respected colleagues) in a school, dojo, or sports club. So at school, the students in higher grades than oneself are -senpai. (Teachers are not -senpai.)
Kouhai - Students of the same or lower grade are referred to as -kouhai. The opposite of -senpai.
Sensei - Literally meaning, "former born", -sensei is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors, politicians, lawyers, and other authority figures. It is used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill, and is also applied to novelists, poets, painters, and other artists.
Hakase - The term is not generally used when addressing a person with very high academic expertise; the one used instead is -hakase ("doctor", but the actual meaning is closer to "professor").
Shi - Used in formal writing, and sometimes in very formal speech, for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker, typically a person known through publications whom the speaker has never actually met. Once a person's name has been used with -shi, the person can be referred to with -shi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one person being referred to.
Ue - Ue literally means "above", and denotes a high level of respect. Used in the same meaning as -san.
Heika - Used for sovereign royalty, similar to "Majesty" in English.
Denka - Used for non-sovereign royalty, similar to "Royal Highness". Denka can be used by itself, like "Your Royal Highness."
Hidenka - For addressing the consort of the prince, and is used the same way as the other royal titles.
Kakka - It means "Your Excellency" and is used for heads of state (except for those addressed by Heika or Denka), ministers including the Prime Minister of Japan, ambassadors and other high-rank officials such as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It too can be used by itself or attached to a specific title.
Daitoryo - It means "President" and is used for any national president, such as the President of the United States. It is most commonly attached to a name.
Otosan - "Father". The descriptive noun is "chichi".
Ojisan - "Uncle", or also "middle-aged gentleman".
Ojiisan - "Grandfather", or also "male senior-citizen".
Okasan - "Mother". The descriptive noun is "haha".
Obasan - "Aunt", or also "middle-aged lady".
Obasan - "Grandmother", or also "female senior-citizen".
Oniisan - "Big brother" or "a young gentleman". The descriptive noun is "ani".
Onesan - "Big sister", or also "a young lady". The descriptive noun is "ane". -
Ue.
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Probably -shi or -san.
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Vladimir Putin Newbie-san
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-daitoryo
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-san
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-Kun
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-Kun
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-san
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San
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[Senpai]
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Sensei. You have a mastery with computers.
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Br0wnies: I forgot to add...
Pyon - To address someone of whom you are participating in a romantic relationship with. Exclusively used by females.
Ppe - The same meaning as -pyon, but can be used by both genders. -
-san
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Ue
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