Japanese honorifics
In Japan, it is usual to use honorific titles after a person's name, such as san or kun or chan. These titles are always placed after the name, and are not usually used with one's own name.
Not using an honorific in Japan is called yobisute (呼び捨て, literally "call and throw away") and, depending on the context is either extremely familiar or extremely rude.
However, these respectful titles are dropped when referring to a member of one's own in-group to someone from outside the group. For more information, see uchi-soto and Japanese honorifics.
Common honorific titles
San
San (さん) is the most common honorific title, and its use is mandatory when addressing most social outsiders (for example, non-family members). San is used unless the addressee's status warrants one of the other terms mentioned below.
San is often translated as "Mr.", "Ms.", "Mrs.", and the like, though such a translation is not always accurate. San may also be used in combination with other titles. Thus, a bookseller might be addressed as honya-san (roughly, "Mr. Bookseller") and a butcher as nikuya-san ("Ms. Butcher"). Also, people typically use san when referring to someone's employer (i.e., if you address someone using san, you would also refer to their company by appending san), for example "Kojima Denki-san". On the small maps in phone books and business cards in Japan, for example, the names of surrounding companies are often written using san.
San is also applied to some kinds of foods. For example, fish used for cooking are sometimes referred to as sakana-san. In childish speech, it is sometimes applied to animals - a rabbit might be usagi-san.
Both san and its more formal equivalent, sama, imply a kind of familiarity. For those whom the speaker has not met, the title shi may be preferred.
Han
Han (はん) is the equivalent of san in the Kansai dialect.
Kun
Kun (くん，君) is an informal and intimate honorific primarily used for males. It is used by superiors in addressing inferiors, by males of roughly the same age and status in addressing each other, and in addressing male children. However, in business settings young women may also be addressed as kun by older male superiors. Schoolteachers typically address male students using kun, while female students are addressed as san or chan. Note that when used to address the male children of others, kun is no more optional than using san when addressing the boy's parents. Not using kun would be considered yobisute and is likely to be considered rude. Note also that, although it is becoming more common, kun is traditionally not used when addressing one's own children. Doing so may give the impression of a doting parent who spoils his or her children.
Chan
Chan (ちゃん) is the informal, intimate, diminutive equivalent of san, used to refer to children and female family members, close friends and lovers. Chan is also used for adults who are considered cute. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger gained the nickname Shuwachan in Japanese. On the other hand, Chinese with a surname that might be rendered "chan" in English are usually referred to as "chen" in Japanese. For example, kung-fu star Jackie Chan is called ジェッキー・チェン (Jakkii Chen) in Japan. Similar to kun, chan is not necessarily optional when referring to the female children of others, and it is often avoided when referring to one's own children, for the same reasons given above.
Although it is usually said that honorifics are not applied to oneself, some women refer to themselves in the third person using chan. For example, a young woman named Maki might call herself Maki-chan rather than using a first person pronoun like watashi. However, this usage is likely to convey the impression that the speaker is self-centered. Chan is also used for pets and animals, such as usagi-chan.
In the same way that chan is a version of san, there is also chama from sama, typically used for an older person. Non-standard variations of chan include chin (ちん), and tan (たん).
Senpai and kōhai
Senpai (先輩) is used by students to refer to or address senior students in an academic or other learning environment, or in athletics and sports clubs, and also in business settings to refer to those in senior positions to oneself who do not have authority. Kōhai (後輩) is the reverse of this. It is 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 to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill. For example, Japanese manga fans refer to manga artists using the term sensei, as in Takahashi sensei for manga artist Rumiko Takahashi; the term is used similarly by fans of other creative professionals such as novelists, musicians, and artists.
Sama
Sama (様) is the formal version of san. This honorific is used primarily in addressing persons much higher in rank than oneself (as long as some other title is unavailable), and is used in commercial and business settings to address and refer to customers (see uchi-soto.) It also forms parts of set phrases such as okyaku-sama (customer) or omachidō-sama ("I am sorry to keep you waiting"). Sama also follows the addressee's name on postal packages and letters, again provided it is not superseded by some other title. Sama can also be used for people considered to have some high ability or be particularly attractive. If a young man is considered particularly handsome, he might be referred to as Tanaka-sama rather than Tanaka-san by his female admirers. For example, Leonardo DiCaprio has gained the nickname Leo-sama in Japan. Another usage is in an arrogant context, as in the arrogant male pronoun ore-sama, "my esteemed self", meaning "I".
Shi
Shi (氏) is a formal title used in polite speech for referring to a person who is unfamiliar to the speaker, typically a person who the speaker has never met. For example, the shi title is common in the speech of newsreaders. It is also used in formal writing. It is preferred in legal documents, academic journals, and certain other formal written styles because of the familiarity which "san" or "sama" imply. Once a person's name has been used with shi, the person can be referred to with shi alone, without the name, as long as there is only one person being referred to.
Other titles
Occupation-related titles
It is common for sports athletes to be referred to as senshu (選手). For example, Japanese footballer Robert Cullen is referred to as Karen-senshu. A master carpenter might have the title tōryō (棟梁), meaning "master craftsman", attached to his name, and be referred to as "Suzuki-Tōryō" rather than "Suzuki-San". Television lawyer Hideki Maruyama is referred to as Maruyama Bengoshi 丸山弁護士 (literally "Maruyama-lawyer") rather than Maruyama-san.
Titles for criminals and the accused
Convicted criminals are referred to in the media with the title hikoku (被告) instead of san. Suspects awaiting trial are referred to by the title yōgisha (容疑者).
Titles for companies
As mentioned above, companies often refer to each other informally using the company name plus san. In correspondance, the title onchū (御中) is added to the company name when it is not addressed to a specific person. See Japanese etiquette.
Dono/tono
Dono and tono (both written 殿) roughly mean "lord". This title is no longer used in daily conversation, though it is still used in some types of written business correspondance It is also seen on drug prescriptions, certificates and awards, and in written correspondence in tea ceremonies. It is also seen in anime, where characters are often either members of royal or noble houses, or gain sufficient respect for the honorific.
Ue
Ue (上) literally means "above" and, appropriately, denotes a high level of respect. While its use is no longer very common, it is still seen in constructions like 父上 (chichi-ue) and 母上 (haha-ue), reverent terms for one's own, or someone else's, father and mother, respectively.
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. See ja:家元 (Iemoto entry in Japanese Wikipedia).
Royal titles
- heika (陛下). Affixed to the end of a royal title, with a meaning roughly equivalent to "Majesty" (天皇陛下; tennōheika: His Majesty the Emperor; 女王陛下; joōheika: Her Majesty the Queen). Heika by itself can also be used as a direct term of address ("Your Majesty").
- denka (殿下). Affixed to the end of a royal title, with a meaning roughly equivalent to "Royal Highness" or "Majesty". Example: 「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 the Kingdom of Sweden".
- kakka (閣下). "Your Excellency", used for ambassadors and some heads of state.
Usage in popular culture
As with other aspects of the language, usage in popular culture such as manga and anime often bears little resemblance to that which is accepted in everyday use; writers may choose to have their characters use very idiosyncratic language as a distinguishing factor. In particular, it is common for authors of harem-type comedies to arrange for every female character to address the hero in a different way, even where this stretches the bounds of plausibility.