Japanese Honorifics

Just like in English we use 'sir' or 'madam' in order to express respect or regard to someone or to indicate a formal relation, people in Japan uses the Japanese honorifics, which are used either with the first name or the last name. These honorifics are not used as per the gender of the person who is being addressed, so they are not gender-specific. In case of an informal relationship, such as while addressing the younger members of the family or maybe while addressing classmates or teammates in a sports team and so on, this honorifics can be dropped; just like in English language we have several honorifics, like 'Mrs, Mr, Ms, Sir or Madam'.

Common Honorifics

San
It is pronounced 'Han' in the Kansai dialect used in order to address someone respectfully. This honorific can also be used in several other ways besides being used with names. It can be used as a workplace noun such as video store + san, or maybe bookstore + san. This san can also be used with the names of animals. Although in English it might sound funny to refer to a deer as Mr. Deer but that is what happens in Japan; even animals, specially pet animals, are referred to as san. San is also used with company names, for example if you have a company called ABC Ltd, then some other company will refer to your company as ABC Ltd san.

Chan
The next Japanese honorific in the Japanese language is chan. If you find someone endearing, then you can address him as chan. This term is generally used for babies, small kids, or maybe some cute animals or for lovers or very close friends and so on. Do not use this term for people of higher authority or for people with whom you share a formal relationship.

Sensei
In Japanese, the term sensei means 'former born' and it is usually used to address teachers, doctors or politicians and so on. In short, this term is used to show respect to people who have made a mark in their respective fields, such as the doctors in the field of medicine, politicians in the field of politics and so on. You can use this honorific either as a suffix or maybe as a stand alone title.

Shi
While writing a formal letter or while giving a formal speech, or while talking to a person with whom you are not familiar with or a person who you have never met, shi is used. You will notice the use of this term mainly by the news readers while they are reading out the news. This term can also be used in legal documents or maybe some academic journals.

Senpai
If you have to address your seniors in schools or colleges, or maybe in your company or sports club, then you use this term, senpai. Students will call their seniors (i.e. students of the higher grade senpai), but not their classmates or students from lower grades.

Sama
This is a more respectful version of the Japanese honorific, san. It is used to address people who belong to a much higher post, or maybe sometimes it is also used to refer to customers or people whom you admire a lot. This term can also be used to express empathy to someone because of their hard work or while expressing regret for some mistake.

Kun
Kun is used when a person of higher status talks to a person of lower status, or while addressing male children or male teenagers. Females can also call males with whom they are emotionally attached as kun.

Thus, these are the various Japanese honorifics which are commonly used in Japan. Next time you hear any of your Japanese friends referring to you using any of these expressions, you will know what it means. You can also address your Japanese clients (if any) using these honorifics and impress them.