What does Chan and Kun etc mean in Japanese?

What does sama, kun,chan mean like in the japanese anime stuff?

  • like in naruto sakura calls sasuke sasuke kun and naruto calls sakura sakura chan. so what do these things mean?

  • Answer:

    [-san: this is the most common honorific, and is equivalent to mr., miss, ms., mrs., etc. it is the all-purpose honorific and can be used in any situation where politeness is required -sama: this is one level higher than '-san.' it is used to confer great respect. -dono: this comes from the word 'tono,' which means 'lord.' it is even a higher level than '-sama,' and confers utmost respect. -kun: this suffix is used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment. it is also sometimes used by men among friends, or when addressing someone younger or of a lower station. -chan:this is used to express endearment, mostly towards girl. it is also used for little boys, pets, and even among lovers. it gives a sense of childish cuteness. sempai: this title suggests that the addressee is one's 'senior' in a group or organization. it is most often used in a school setting, wehre underclassmen refer to their upperclassmen as 'sempai.' it can also be used in the workplace, such as when a newer employee addresses an employee who has seniority in the company. kohai: this is the opposite of '-sempai,' and is used towards underclassmen in school or newcomers in the workplace. it connotes that the adressee is of lower station. sensei: literally meaning 'one who has come before,' this title is used for teachers, doctors, or masters of any profession or art. -[blank]: usually forgotten in these lists, but perhaps the most significant difference between japanese and english. the lack of honorific means that the speaker has permission to address the person in a very intimate way. usually only family, spouses, or very close friends have this kind of permission. known as YOBISUTE, it can be gratifying when someone who has earned the intimacy starts to call one by one's name without an honorific. but when that intimacy hasn't been earned, it can also be very insulting] oniisan/niisan=older brother oneesan/neesan=older sister okaasan/kaasan=mother otousan=father {note: for family honorifics, there are different variations depending of the level of respect. you can find all the variations and descriptions of their use by clicking the second link below} there's a great list of family honorifics here: http://www.kyokipress.com/wings/honorifics.html http://anime.mikomi.org/wiki/HonorificsExplained (with more in-depth explanations) hope this helps. good luck!!

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Yeah, KiraKira's right. Honorifics such as -Kun, -Chan, -Sama, -San are used to show respect or affection towards a person. They are usually add after someone's name, liek: Naruto-Kun, Sakura-Chan, Tsunade-Sama, Kakashi-San. -Kun: Kun (君, Kun?) is an informal honorific primarily used towards males (it is still used towards females, but rarely). It is used by persons of senior status in addressing those of junior status, by males of roughly the same age and status when addressing each other, and by anyone in addressing male children. It can also be used by females when addressing a male that they are emotionally attached to. Usually it depends on the relationship between the two people. In business settings, women, particularly young women, may also be addressed as kun by older males of senior status. It is sometimes used towards male pets as well. -Chan: Chan (ちゃん, Chan?) is a diminutive suffix. 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. Chan continues to be used as a term of endearment, especially for girls, into adulthood. Parents will probably always call their daughters chan and their sons kun, though chan can be used towards boys just as easily. Adults may use chan as a term of endearment to women with whom they are on close terms. -San: San (さん, San?) is the most common honorific and is a title of respect. It is used for the surnames or given names of both males and females. Although in translation san is usually rendered as a common courtesy title like “Mr.” or “Ms.”, unlike these it is never used in self-reference. Using san to refer to oneself makes one appear childish or incredibly vain. -Sama: Sama (様, Sama?) is the formal version of san. This honorific is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself and in commercial and business settings to address and refer to customers. It also appears in words used to address or speak of persons or objects for which the speaker wishes to show respect or deference, such as okyaku-sama (customer) or Tateishi-sama (a stone revered as a manifestation of the divine). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_titles#San

bye

Think of it like "Mr" "Miss" "sir" "lord" etc. Unless english, they're used at the end of names. And are extremely common. People only drop these if they know the person well. san = basic honorific. Used if you're not extremely close to the person or they're older than you(shows respect/politeness). This is most common. kun = Most commonly used when refering to a man you are very close to. Like a close friend or boyfriend. chan = used between girls who are really close. Or young girls. It adds cuteness to the name. sama = Basicly means lord.

Mandie

those are honorifics that are give at the end of a name to show respect. sama means kinda like master. kun is usually given to boys chan usually to girls or young boys.

~Haligh~

These are all Japanese honorifics, which are added onto the ends of names to signify varying degrees of respect or fondness. -sama is the equivalent of 'Lord' or 'Lady' in English. So if you say "Orochimaru-sama", that is the equivalent of saying "Lord Orochimaru" in English. -sama is a very respectful honorific. -kun is an honorific used to show respect or fondness for males the same age as you or younger than you. It is primarily a male honorific, but not always. So you could say, "Sasuke-kun" and that would be like saying his name in a respectful and fond manner. -chan is an honorific used to show fondness for either small children and girls the same age or younger than you. It is primarily a female honorific, never really used for males, except in the case of little children. So you could say "Sakura-chan" and that would be the equivalent of saying her name with fondness. Girls who are similar ages in japan often use the -chan honorific with their girl friends. -sensei is an honorific that is used when addressing a teacher or professor with respect. So saying "Kakashi-sensei" would be like saying "Professor Kakashi" or "Teacher Kakashi" in English, only it also has a thick layer of underlying respect. Teachers in Japan are highly respected. -san is a respectful honorific that is the English equivalent of saying "Mr." or "Ms.". So you could say something like "Hatake-san" and that would be the equivalent of saying "Mr. Hatake" in English. The -san honorific is often used when meeting someone for the first time, as a term of respect. Also, there are some more honorifics not seen quite as often: -tan is an honorific used much like the -chan honorific, except it is used more in a condescending and teasing manner. Don't use this honorific unless you are intending to be teasing someone (usually someone smaller than you). I guess it doesn't necessarily have to be a teasing sort of honorific, but it is considered to be 'cutesy'. -dono is an honorific that is rarely used in modern times. It is very similar to the -sama honorific, except while -sama is used when an inferior addresses a superior, -dono is used when superior address each other. Again, it is very rarely used today. It a highly respectful honorific. -senpai is an honorific used often when a younger person addresses an older or "senior" person. It's often used in schools, such as a freshman would address a sophomore with the -senpai honorific (because the sophomore is the older year), or in offices, etc. Like -sensei, this honorific can be used as an ending to someones name or a stand-alone address. There are tons more honorifics than this, by the way. These are only the ones I could think of right now.

Ƙarasu

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