Hi there, all you lovely people. There is something that's been on my mind recently. Just out of curiosity, I was wandering what the suffix -san meant after hearing it repeatedly in a Japanese show. For example at the end of a name. Could anyone please tell me what it means? Thanks, take care.
- san is added behind a name of person you have respect for. For example your school teacher. It doesn't mean anything, you are just showing person you respect them by adding -san behind their name. Hope it helped
For your school teacher you should use Sensei. For example: My Japanese university teacher's name is Umeda. I use her lastname to address her and call her Umeda-sensei. In return she calls me [firstname]-san.
Using -san is a way of showing respect for the person you are addressing. It generally is the equivalent of Mr., Ms., and Mrs. as well.
Basically anyone you meet. Call them san. Not so sure on the -kun and -chan but they refer to children.
San: unigender suffix for names used to show respect to those either around your age or basically anyone not below the age of young adult/teen. Kun: male suffix used if you're a bit closer to the person or used with small boys when they're trying to seem mature. Sensei: teacher, doctor, or someone that is extremely good at their trade and is used to show respect. Chan: suffix used mainly when referring to small children of both genders, sometimes elderly people may use it for teenage girls (ex: high schooler), or to refer to your pet or other small animal.
-san would be used to address someone your age, or someone on the same or slightly-higher hierarchical level. You'd use it to greet your neighbours, for instance, or someone you happen to know but not too well, or a shopkeeper, etc. You'd use -sama for someone who's 'higher' and 'more distant' to you. E.g. said shopkeeper would address you as '(customer)-sama'. For people higher in any given hierarchy in work situations, you'd use their title. Like -sensei for a teacher/doctor, or -shachou, -kaichou, etc. for your boss (depending on their role in the company). I've also heard -dono used, but it's pretty outdated (it used to be for 'lord' or 'master'), and seems to be used in specific circumstances only, like ceremonies. -kun and -chan: as above, for children—or if you're deliberately trying to insult or / snark at someone.
