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Japanese Titles
    Keywords: Culture & History

moonprince: Warning! Long post!

I believe I can offer some information on Japanese titles. While most of what has been said on the previous page is useful, let me recap it and add some additional points.

The Japanese have a name taboo, they avoid using names when possible. Using a name is rather intimate. Close friends, such as schoolmates, lovers, and family members, would use names. Omitting a title is either very friendly or very insulting, depending on the situation. The Japanese usually use the surname when they use names. Again, children are usually less formal, but the older the people involved, and the more formal the situation, the more polite the language becomes. It is perfectly polite and common in Japanese to address a complete stranger as 'old lady' or 'grandfather' or 'elder sister' or 'Mr. Policeman' or 'miss' or 'boy'. It's also acceptable to refer to your boss as Kacho ('boss', literally 'supervisor') without his name. Note that in large businesses there are ranks above the kacho, and you should use whatever your boss' actual title is.

-san is the generic always correct title to use when you don't know what other title to use. Nobody can reasonably take offense at -san. (Well, some people can be offended by *anything*, but that's a different issue.) -san is used for both males and females. Girls become -san when entering high school, boys become -san when leaving high school. Obviously, individuals may have different experiences, but we're talking about a rule of thumb.

High school boys are -kun, but -kun can also be used a term of address by an older man to a younger man, or among friends and equals. Thus a boss can address a junior male employee as -kun, but the employee will address the boss as Kacho, or maybe -san or -sama, depending on the situation.

Children under about 10 years of age are -chan, -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. Adults will use -chan as a term of endearment to women with whom they are on close terms. Sexist Japanese men will also use it to address waitresses and other junior women. This is still quite common in Japan and is usually considered acceptable, feminism is lagging behind the West.

-sama is used as a polite term of address to someone noticeably older or of higher status than yourself. Thus clerks and waiters and other service sectors employees will call just about everybody -sama, probably as 'o-kyaku-sama' (Ms Guest, or Mr Guest). O-sama is also used as a standalone title. It's very polite and shows either that the person you are addressing outranks you by a large margin, is much older than you, or you are in a very formal situation -- or maybe you don't know their name and need a polite address. It is sometimes translated into English as 'Lord' or 'Lady', but it is more like 'sir' or 'ma'am'.

-dono is the title that literally means 'Lord' or 'Lady,' and also 'milord' and 'milady'. It is obsolete, if you try to use it with modern Japanese they will think your brain has been addled by watching too many samurai movies. Some people, wanting a term of intermediate politeness between -san and -sama have adopted -dono, but this is not correct. -dono, as well as the standalone titles Dono and O-dono are much higher status than -sama. (-san is a contraction of -sama, by the way, both are relatively modern words).

Sensei means teacher. It can be used as a title -sensei, or as a standalone title, Sensei. A sensei is therefore a subcategory of -sama. That is to say, not all -sama are sensei, but all sensei are -sama. Either sensei or -sama is correct for a teacher, but sensei is probably preferred, especially if the speaker has benefited from or hopes to benefit from the sensei's knowledge.

Senpai and -senpai mean 'elder male student'. Note that the kanji for 'sen' is the same kanji in both sensei and senpai -- it originally means something like 'wizard.' A senpai is specifically a male student more senior than the speaker. Elder students have a leadership role with junior students and 'senpai' recognizes that. However, not all young men show the maturity and knowlege that results in them being called 'senpai'. Senpai can be addressed as either -kun or -san depending upon their age and their relationship with the one addressing them. An older man would never call a younger man senpai, it is always from a junior student to a more senior male student. Recently senior female students have started to be addressed as senpai, but this is not yet widespread.

A young woman who is older or more senior than the speaker is addressed as o-nee-san, 'elder sister'. It is extremely common for familial names to be used for all categories of people. Boys can be addressed as 'elder brother' and 'younger brother', girls as 'elder sister' and 'younger sister', etc. A male in a generation older than the speaker could be addressed as 'uncle' and a woman in a generation older than the speaker could be addressed as 'aunt.' Note that 'aunt' is not acceptable to many young women as they feel it implies a rather matronly figure. Note also that the titles 'father' and 'mother' are rarely used, men and women of this generation are usually addressed as uncle and aunt. However, it is common to address old people as grandfather and grandmother.

A couple of terms still used for women: o-jo-san, lit. 'miss'. -jo used to be the title used for single women, it has been replaced by -san. Older people still use it. O-ne-chan, also means 'miss' but it is very informal, it pretty well corresponds to the English term 'girl'. It is common for older men to address a waitress as 'o-ne-chan.' The term -fujin used to be used for married women, but that has also been replaced by -san, except for older people. O-jo-san, since it uses '-san' is acceptable to use to address an adult woman. O-ne-chan is acceptable as a form of address for a little girl (under 10).

The additional complication is that the Japanese use different levels of politeness when talking about their own family or people associated with themselves, and more polite language for others. In English, it is same as when I refer to my father as 'Dad' (casual) but I refer to your father as 'your father' (polite).

Learning to use titles correctly depends on developing a sensitivity to status and how it is influenced by gender, age, employment, situation, and so on. This sensitivity is invaluable in dealing with Japanese people, everything from seating arrangements to business negotiations depend on it. Younger people are less concerned about these details and are likely to be casual, while older people and traditional people will be more concerned about it.

Also note, that if you venture much beyond the standard -san, -sama, -kun, and -chan, you run the risk of offending somebody by using the titles wrong. The Japanese accord a considerable leeway to foreigners, but if you do try to play the game the Japanese way you better do it right. If you have a native Japanese speaker available they may not want to be your guinea pig either, it's a lot of work to try and instruct foreigners in the Japanese language and they may be at a loss how to help you. Most Japanese are amazed that you know any of their language at all and will probably tell you that you're doing fine no matter how badly you butcher it. (I have made my girlfriend laugh more than a few times with my fumbling efforts. Thank goodness she laughed when I tried out 'uwaki' which I had been told was a term for a girlfriend. Ooooooooops.)


ShinGensou: The word 'senpai' is not exclusive to males. It is used by women towards other women as well. It is a deferential term, acknowledging that the subject is of a higher status than you - usually having to do with number of years of participation in a club, company or other organized entity.

Jhereg: I have a question. I've always called my grandmother O-ba-chan. You have said that 'chan' is used for children. If this is so, why am I using 'chan' when refering to my grandma?

Jhereg: Ummmmm....ok...if you want to answer, my email is musicgirl51@hotmail.com thanx.

kokiri chan is a soft term and can be used in a friendly way - your grandmother would be a good example unless you're in a particularly old fashioned family. i have male friends who are usually called, eg take-chan and if i were chatting up a girl in her 20's, i'd almost certainly call her ne-chan; a bit too friendly? - maybe but sexist, not really.

Jhereg: Ok, arigatou kokiri. I was worried there for a minute that I'd been calling my grandma a kid :)



This is a copy of the living page "Japanese Titles" at Sensei's Library.
(OC) 2004 the Authors, published under the OpenContent License V1.0.