What is the difference between san, sama, kun and chan? (2024)

sci.lang.japan FAQ
13. Etiquette

Previous: What are the phrases used on nengajō (New Year's greetings)?

In Japan, when talking about other people, one uses honorific titlesafter their name. The most common title is san (さん). It meansall of "Mr", "Mrs", "Miss", and "Ms." Mr Tanaka is referred to asTanaka-san, as is Mrs Tanaka, and their unmarried daughter. Othercommon titles include sama (様), a more polite version ofsan, sensei (先生), for teachers, kun andchan. These titles also come after the name.

Correct use of titles is very important in Japan. Calling somebody byjust their name, without adding a title, is a form of bad manners,called yobisute (呼び捨て).

Although titles are usually added to people's names, there are someexceptions. They are not used when talking about a family member, oranother member of one's "in-group", to someone from outside thegroup. At work, Ms. Shimizu calls her boss "Tanaka san" when she talksto him, or about him to other people. But when she talks to a customerfrom outside their company, she calls him just "Tanaka".

Common honorific titles

San

San (さん) is the most common honorific title. San issimilar to "Mr", "Ms.", "Mrs", and so on. There is no kanji form forsan, it's written in hiragana.

San may also be used with a characteristic of a person. Abookseller might be hon'ya-san (本屋さん), "Mr. Bookseller". Aforeigner might be referred to as gaijin-san (外人さん). (Seealso Is gaijin a derogatory term?)

San is also used when talking about entities such ascompanies. For example, the offices or shop of a company calledKojima denki might be referred to as Kojima Denki-san byanother nearby company. This may be seen on the small maps often usedin phone books and business cards in Japan, where the names ofsurrounding companies are written using san.

San is also applied to some kinds of foods. For example, fishused for cooking are sometimes referred to as sakana-san (魚さん).

Both san and its more formal equivalent, sama, implyfamiliarity. In formal speech or writing, thetitle shi may be preferred.

Kun

Kun (君) is informal and mostly used for males, such as boys orjuniors at work. It is used by superiors to inferiors, by males ofthe same age and status to each other, and in addressing malechildren. In business settings junior women may also be addressed askun by superiors.

Chan

Schwarzenegger AKA Shuwa-chan

Chan (ちゃん) is a form of san used to refer to childrenand female family members, close friends and lovers. The change fromsan to chan is a kind of "baby talk" in Japanese where "sh"sounds are turned into "ch" sounds, such as chitchai forchiisai, "small".

Chan is also used for adults who are considered to be kawaii(cute or loveable). For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger gained thenickname Shuwa-chan (シュワちゃん).

Chan is sometimes applied to male children if the name does notfit with the kun suffix. For example, a boy called Tetsuyamay be nicknamed Tetchan rather than Tekkun for reasons moreto do with phonetics than anything else.

Although it is usually said that honorifics are not applied tooneself, some women refer to themselves in the third person usingchan. For example, a young woman named Maki might callherself Maki-chan rather than using a first person pronoun likewatashi. Chan is also used for pets and animals, such asusagi-chan. (See also What are the personal pronouns of Japanese?)

In the same way that chan is a version of san, there is alsochama (ちゃま) from sama. Other variations of chaninclude chin (ちん), and tan (たん).

Senpai and Kōhai

Senpai and kōhai

Senpai (先輩) is used by students to refer to or address seniorstudents in an academic or other learning environment, or in athleticsand sports clubs, and also in business settings to refer to those inmore senior positions. Kōhai (後輩) is the reverse of this. Itis used to refer to or address juniors.

Sensei

Sensei (先生) is used to refer to or address teachers, doctors,lawyers, politicians, or other authority figures. It is also used toshow respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery insome skill. It is used by fans of novelists, musicians, and artists.For example, Japanese manga fans refer to manga artist RumikoTakahashi as Takahashi-sensei.

Sama

Sama (様) is the formal version of san. It's used inaddressing persons higher in rank than oneself, and in commercial andbusiness settings to address and refer to customers. It also formsparts of set phrases such as o-kyaku-sama (customer) oro-machidō-sama ("I am sorry to keep you waiting"). Samaalso follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters.

Sama is also often used for people considered to have some highability or be particularly attractive. At the peak of his popularity,Leonardo DiCaprio gained the nickname Leo-sama in Japan.

Sama is also occasionally used about oneself, as in the arrogantmale pronoun ore-sama, "my esteemed self", meaning "I". However,this is not common outside fiction or humour. (See alsoWhat are the personal pronouns of Japanese?)

Shi

Shi (氏) is used in formal writing, and sometimes in verypolite speech, for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to thespeaker, typically a person who the speaker has never met. Forexample, the shi title is common in the speech of newsreaders. Itis preferred in legal documents, academic journals, and certain otherformal written styles because of the familiaritywhich sanor sama imply. Once a person's namehas been used with shi, the person can be referred to withshi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one personbeing referred to.

Other titles

Director Yasujiro Ozu Ozu-kantoku

Occupation-related titles

Instead of the above general honorifics, it is fairly common to usethe name of the person's job after the name. It is common for sportsathletes to be referred to as name + senshu (選手) rather thanname + san. A master carpenter called Suzuki might have the titletōryō (棟梁), meaning "master carpenter", attached to his name,and be referred to as Suzuki-Tōryō rather thanSuzuki-San. Television lawyer Kazuya Maruyama is referred to asMaruyama Bengoshi (丸山弁護士) (literally "Maruyama-lawyer")rather than Maruyama-san.

Inside companies, it is also common to refer to people using theircompany rank, particularly for those of a high rank, such as companypresident, shachō (社長) or other titles such asbuchō (部長), department chief, etc.

Honorific job titles

The name of a job may have two versions. For example, "translator" maybe hon'yakuka (翻訳家) or hon'yakusha (翻訳者). Jobtitles ending in ka (家), meaning "expert", usually imply somekind of expertise, thus, by the rules of modesty in Japanese, they arenot usually used for oneself. The plain form with sha (者),meaning "person", may be used by the person or in plain text, such asthe book title. Use of the ka ending implies respect. Similarly,judo practitioners are jūdōka (柔道家), or "judo experts", andmanga authors are mangaka (漫画家) or "manga experts".

In the case of farmers, the old name hyakushō (百姓) (literally"one hundred surnames") is now considered offensive, and farmers arereferred to, and refer to themselves as, nōka (農家), or"farming experts".

Honorific job titles such as sensei, which is applied to teachersand doctors, also have plain forms. For example, in plain language, ateacher is a kyōshi (教師) and a doctor is an isha (医者)or ishi (医師). The polite versions are used when addressing ortalking about the person, but the plain forms of the jobs are used inother cases.

Dewi Fujin, "Mrs Dewi" or "Madam Dewi"

Fujin

Fujin (夫人) is a title similar to "Mrs" in English, used tospecify the wife of a couple. It tends to be used with persons of highstatus, such as television celebrity Dewi Fujin (デヴィ夫人),former wife of Indonesian president Sukarno.

Titles for criminals and the accused

Convicted criminals are referred to with the title hikoku (被告)instead of san. For example, Matsumoto hikoku of AumShinrikyo. Suspects awaiting trial are referred to by the titleyōgisha (容疑者).

Titles for companies

As mentioned above, companies often referto each other's offices informally using the company name plussan. In correspondence, the title onchū (御中) is added tothe company name when the letter is not addressed to a specific personin the company. Furthermore, the legal status of the company isusually included, either incorporated, kabushikigaisha (株式会社), or limited, yūgen gaisha (有限会社). These may beabbreviated with the kanji kabu (株) or yū (有) inbrackets.

There are also separate words for "our company", heisha (弊社),which literally means "clumsy/poor company", and "your company",kisha (貴社) or onsha (御社), meaning "honouredcompany".

Organizations that provide professional services, such as law oraccounting firms, may have sha substituted by jimusho (事務所), meaning "office".

Dono and tono

Dono and tono, both written "殿" in kanji, roughly mean"lord". This title is no longer used in daily conversation, though itis still used in some types of written business correspondence. It isalso seen on drug prescriptions, certificates and awards.

Ue

Ue (上) literally means "above" and, appropriately, denotes ahigh level of respect. While its use is no longer very common, it isstill seen in constructions like chichi-ue (父上) andhaha-ue (母上), reverent terms for father and mother.

Iemoto

Iemoto (家元) is an even more polite version of sensei used for the highest ranking persons in traditional art forms such as calligraphy or the tea ceremony.

Titles for royalty and others

Heika (陛下) is affixed to the end of a royal title, witha meaning similar to "Majesty". For example, Tennō heika (天皇陛下) means "His Majesty, the Emperor" and Joō heika (女王陛下)means "Her Majesty, the Queen". Heika by itself can also be usedas a direct term of address, similar to "Your Majesty".
Denka (殿下) is affixed to the end of a royal title, witha meaning similar to "Royal Highness" or "Majesty". For exampleSuwēden Ōkoku Bikutoria Kōtaishi denka (スウェーデン王国　ビクトリア皇太子殿下) "Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of theKingdom of Sweden".
Kakka (閣下) means "Your Excellency" and is used forambassadors and some heads of state.

sci.lang.japan FAQ
13. Etiquette

Previous: What are the phrases used on nengajō (New Year's greetings)?

If you have questions, corrections, or comments, please contact Ben Bullock or use the discussion forum / Privacy policy


Book reviews	ConvertJapanesenumbers	Handwrittenkanjirecognition	Stroke orderdiagrams	ConvertJapaneseunits

FAQs

What is the difference between san, sama, kun and chan? ›

Chan is used for young children, particularly for young girls. San is used for adults with the same or older age. Sama is used for adults with a high social status. Kun is used for young boys.

Read The Full Story ›

Should I use Chan or Kun? ›

They are used very often, and it is considered impolite if you use the terms incorrectly. For instance, you should not use "kun," which is used to address men who are younger or the same age as you, when addressing a superior, or "chan," which is mainly used for children, when talking to someone older than you.

Can you use Kun for a girl? ›

-Kun is the more respectful of the two, but is still rather informal. It's used more commonly for men and boys than women and girls. That said, it's become more common for higher ups to refer to juniors at work using -kun regardless of gender and for teachers to simply use -san for everyone, regardless of gender.

Explore More ›

Is Sama for male or female? ›

Sama (さま) is the respectful version of san, mostly used in business and clientele contexts, for people of higher rank, or somebody you admire. This is because the implied superiority of the guest or customer is very strong. Sama is gender-neutral just like san.

Discover More Details ›

Why do they say San after a name? ›

As a rule of thumb, in Japanese business life, the surname name is always followed by the honorific suffix “san” (meaning “dear” or actually “honorable Mr/Ms.”). There are of course many other options such as “sama” (highly revered customer or company manager) or “sensei” (Dr. or professor).

Keep Reading ›

Do you call a girl Chan? ›

Chan (ちゃん) expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. In general, -chan is used for young children, close friends, babies, grandparents and sometimes female adolescents. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, or youthful women.

Can I call my crush kun? ›

If he's younger than you and he's not your boss, you can use "-kun." "-chan" is a little bit tricky. If he's younger than you and both of you are very good friends, then you can call him with "-chan."

Show Me More ›

Can a girl be a senpai? ›

It can be used for both genders. You can use the word to someone who belongs to an organization or community before you, or who have more experienced than you. 先輩 senpai can be used for anybody there before you. Male or female (or whatever you identify as) at school, work, club, anything really, even life.

View Details ›

Is senpai unisex? ›

But honorifics in Japan work quite differently—they come in after someone's name, and most of them are not tied to perceived gender (PHEW). Plus, they're used in a much wider span of social situations. The most common honorifics in Japanese are san, kun, chan, sama, sensei, and senpai.

Know More ›

Is Kun unisex? ›

Kun is a gender-neutral baby name of Chinese origin, meaning “earth” and “female.” In certain Chinese cultures, it's believed that the world is made up of several elements—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Kun, or earth, is a powerful element of harvest and represents a bountiful time for everyone.

Tell Me More ›

Why do Japanese sleep on the floor? ›

Better Sleep Quality

This is likely due to the fact that sleeping on a firm surface can help reduce tossing and turning, which can disrupt sleep. Also, sleeping on the floor can help regulate body temperature, which can also improve sleep quality.

Find Out More ›

Why do Japanese sit on their knees? ›

'proper sitting') is the formal, traditional way of sitting in Japan. It involves a specific positioning and posture in a kneeled position so as to convey respect, particularly toward elders. It developed among samurai during the Edo period and was later widely adopted by the public.

Know More ›

What does konichiwa mean? ›

Meaning: Hello. Pronunciation: koh-nee-chee-wah. About: This is probably the most common way to say hello in Japanese. Konnichiwa is used broadly throughout the day and is what you'll usually see translated as simply “hello” as you learn Japanese.

Keep Reading ›

Is Chan for male or female Thai? ›

“Chan” is indeed a neutral and common way for a person both male and female to refer to themselves in Thai. It's important to note the gender-specific variations, using the female pattern “Dic̄hạn” would not be suitable for males. It is referred to as being used by a lady with more formal and politeness.

Keep Reading ›

How to address people in Japan? ›

In general, if you want to address a person in Japanese, you use the last name of the person + san. “san” is an honorific and doesn't exactly have an English equivalent. The closest would be “Mr” or “Mrs” or “Ms”.

Is San or Chan more formal? ›

All are nominal suffixes with 'san' as being the most regular and an equivalent to Miss, Ms, Mrs and Mr. 'Chan' may implies a familial and affectionate relationship while 'tan' is even cuter and infantile. 'Sama' is reserved for more formal or honorific address.

Explore More ›

How do you use Chan with names? ›

It's a friendly and casual version of Japanese honorific title. You can use it after your friends name. Mostly we put chan after the women's first name and it's very useful because you can use it to people you just met for the first time. And chan makes their distance closer, more friendly.

Discover More Details ›