Honorifics are not an unfamiliar concept in the West. We use “Mr.” and “Mrs.” and “Dr.” in every day life. Other words like “coach” (where I’m from, just about every male high school teacher is called coach, even if they’re not coaching something) and “professor” also come up often. These words get tacked onto names as a prefix, and outside of a few formal social situations, they’re easy to navigate. If you get the wrong prefix, it is, at best a minor mistake that we’re all expected to shrug off casually.
In Japan, and therefore in anime, honorific suffixes are more serious. Japanese honorifics contain a lot of information about the ages, genders, statuses and relationships of both the person speaking and the person they’re addressing. While they may be translated around in many anime, the more you watch, the more likely you are to notice them being said. That in mind, here’s a brief guide on the different honorifics.
San – This is the “Mr.” and “Ms.” of Japanese. It is respectful but not deferential, generally used with someone of the same standing. Companies may formally refer to other companies with this title (Targetsan), and some occupation based terms are created by affixing -san to the word for a type of shop (think “florist” and “Ms. Flower Store”).
Sama – More formal than san by a long ways, sama is used in scenarios where the speaker is addressing someone of a higher social standing. This can range from work superiors to customers and clients, most members of the royal family (the emperor has his own title), and even gods. Using it to refer to yourself is a show of arrogance. It is the term used on postage and in formal letters and emails.
There are baby-talk variations, tama and chama. Obocchama is a Japanese equivalent of the English “young master.”
Kun – This is used to refer to a younger person or a person with lower social standing. It is mostly used for boys and young men, but it may be used to refer to a girl in classrooms or workplaces where a male teacher using another diminutive honorific might appear overly familiar.
Chan – This is an affectionate diminutive (like calling Timothy “Timmy”). It can be applied to everything from pets to babies and grandparents. There’s an implication of cuteness or of finding the person you’re addressing endearing in some way. Chin is a more diminutive form of chan. Tan is a baby-talk version of the honorific.
Bō – This honorific refers to very young boys exclusively.
Senpai – This is a common term, even in American anime fandom. A senpai is the elder student in a high school setting or the more experienced coworker in a workplace setting. It can also be used to refer to one’s seniors in clubs and teams. It is also sometimes romanticized as “sempai.”
Kouhai – This is the opposite of senpai. It is used to refer to less senior people and for peers. It can be considered rude to directly address someone as “kouhai.”
Sensei – This is a familiar term outside Japan. It is used to refer to teachers, doctors, artists, and other masters of a given discipline. It can be used sarcastically. Shishou and hakase are both even higher level honorifics for people who have mastered something in academia or the arts.
Shi – With my background in journalism, this is something I wish we had in English. Shi is a formal, polite but distanced way to speak about someone while indicating that you haven’t met them, only read or heard about them. It’s common in Japanese journalism and legal writing.
There are quite a few more variations on Japanese honorifics, but these are the most common (other than shi, just thought it was cool). The last four can be used as standalone pronouns. Much of what is left is either slang or references to family relationships that can get a bit more complex and varied so I’m calling it a night. Until tomorrow.
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