Lesson 2: Honorifics

I have known some... but the common honorifics are::

-San~~~is the most common honorific and is a title of respect. It commonly means Miss or Mister. Using this sometimes refer to oneself makes one appear childish. Kyoto used -han instead -san.

-Kun~~~is an informal honorific primarily used towards males, it is still also used towards females, but rarely. It is used by persons of senior status in addressing those of junior status. The use of kun to address male children is similar to the use of san when addressing adults.


-Chan~~It is an informal version of san used to address children and female family members. It may also be used towards animals, lovers, intimate friends, and people whom one has known since childhood. this is also similar to "dear"

-Senpai~~~ is used to address senior colleagues. or when you are a 1st year and the one is a 2nd year

-Kohai~~~ is the reverse of -senpai. It is used to refer to juniors

-Sensei~~~is used to refer to or address teachers, practitioners of a profession such as doctors and lawyers, politicians, and other authority figures. Sensei can be translate to as "Professor" or "Teacher".

-Sama~~~is the formal version of san. This honorific is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself. It also means "master" sometimes. In the same way that chan is a version of san, there is also chama from sama, typically used for an older person. There is also the much less used "tama", which is the most childish and is usually used by young children for older siblings or someone else they admire.

-Shi~~~is 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.

HOO! yes Finished.... I sweat at typing this one! haha!

anyone know more HonoRifics?



OTHERS

:DDono and tono ~~~ roughly mean "lord" or "master". This title is no longer used in daily conversation, though it is still used in some types of written business correspondence.

:DUe~~~ literally means "above" and, appropriately, denotes a high level of respect.

Royal and official titles

Heika ~~~ is affixed to the end of a royal title, with a meaning similar to "Majesty" reserverd for reigning sovereigns. For example, Tennō heika means "His Majesty, the Emperor" and Joō heika means "Her Majesty, the Queen" (e.g. of Denmark). Heika by itself can also be used as a direct term of address, similar to "Your Majesty".

Denka ~~~ is affixed to the end of a non-sovereign royal title, with a meaning similar to "Royal Highness" or "Majesty". For example Suwēden Ōkoku Bikutoria Kōtaishi denka "Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of the Kingdom of Sweden".

:DKakka ~~~means "Your Excellency" and is used for ambassadors and heads of state.

:DHime~~~ is used as an honorific if one is addressing a princess. Hime may also be used as a direct address, akin to calling a person simply "Princess". To convey even greater respect, the honorific sama will be added to both the title and the honorific. Can be used with an "o" prefix (Ohime sama).




Martial arts titles

Martial artists often address their teachers as sensei. Junior and senior students are organized via a senpai/kōhai system.

Various titles are also employed to refer to senior instructors. Which titles are used depends on the particular licensing organization.


Shōgō_ are martial arts titles developed by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai.[4] The Kokusai Budoin,

Renshi: instructor.

:D * Kyōshi ~~~ refers to an advanced teacher.

:D * Hanshi ~~~ refers to a senior expert considered a "teacher of teachers". This title is used by many different arts for the top few instructors of that style, and is sometimes translated "Grand Master".

:D * Meijin ~~~ awarded by a special board of examiners.


Other titles

:D * Kyōshi ~~~ which in everyday Japanese can be a more modest synonym for sensei, is sometimes used to indicate an instructor.

* Oyakata ~~~, master, especially a sumo coach. The literal sense is of someone in loco parentis.

* Shihan ~~~, merely means chief instructor; unlike the titles above it is not related to grade.

:D * Shidōin ~~~, intermediate instructor, also unrelated to grade.

* Shishō ~~~ is another title used for martial arts instructors.

* Zeki ~~~, literally "barrier", used for sumo wrestlers in the top two divisions (sekitori).

wow..... i wanted to learn these... thanx so much ok bye....

no problem! ^_^... its kinda hard to Think about When to use it... and putting in the forum

Awesome. Can't wait to learn Japanese, even thuogh i already know some stuff.

if there are no honorifics used..it means that they are close....

i know those honorifics... i like them

thanks a lot, been wanting to learn. =)

OHH THANKS SOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

I WANTED TO LEARN THAT!!!!!!!

ARIGATO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yeah your right.... ^_^ Thanks for Indicating

COOL! That means I'm a -Chan!

woah thanks! i'm quite confused with these honorifics lately...
like for example...
person A calls person B -Kun but person B just calls person A by her name...
what does that means??

that means they are close? I dont really Know... because that happens to me either.... with my Close FRIENDS>>><<<<

ohh. i thought that maybe some regard their friend as close but the other doesnt feel that way?

yeah... umm... some may have been Shy to them or something...