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Mattea
Mon, 03-29-2004, 12:04 PM
Can someone explain to me... when someone say someone else's name, it ends with Kun, Chan, San, etc.
I wonder if someone can explain what all of those mean and who sais it to who and stuff, would really help alot, thank you i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif

itachi_
Mon, 03-29-2004, 12:44 PM
It's like to be polite and show respect for the person you're talking/writhing to.

-Kun, is like girls and older men says to small boys
-chan, is like cute, little offen boys says that to girls
-San, thw way I get it is like kakashi to gai, like genma to any jounin, Itachi to kakashi etc, if you're adult and talking to someone's that's the same age and "power" that you've got
-sensei is any kind of teacher, school teachar, martial arts teacher etc
-sama is like an old wise man who done something grateful to archieve that

that's what I've concluded after seen at least 20 animes... of course that's just what i've been thinking of.

Neji-Aniki-sama
Mon, 03-29-2004, 12:54 PM
sama can be used for women.
Normally it's used with religious people and nobles.
Sesshoumaru, from Inuyasha, isn't old or wise, yet, he's called sama.
Kagome and Kaede are women and are eventually called sama, too.

Mattea
Mon, 03-29-2004, 12:59 PM
ok, thanks for the little Japanese lesson i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif

sangai
Mon, 03-29-2004, 01:10 PM
im not japanese and i don't know much about there language but i have always been told that "sama was simply just to show great respect to the person its directed at "

itachi_
Mon, 03-29-2004, 02:25 PM
talking about that -sama, sure it probably is so, I just named one thing, it's like all the high rank people within martial arts, have sama, and so on and on, like a respectful man.

lasaire
Mon, 03-29-2004, 02:39 PM
To put it in English equivalent terms, while this doesn't exactly match up, it's fairly close:

-San: Mr., Mrs. or Ms. A semi-formal way of showing respect to someone slightly above your station/age.

-Chan, -Kun: Less-formal, sometimes affectionate address for those your age or younger.
(Note: Lee graduated from the academy, and is one year older than Sakura, hence Lee-san. Sasuke is roughly the same age as Sakura and graduated from the same class in the academy, hence Sasuke-kun. This is a way for her to be more flirty/affectionate/respectful with Sasuke-kun than with Naruto, who she doesn't give a title to.)

-Sama: Like "Lord" or "Lady" or "Sir." For someone much higher in rank than you, or deserving of a special honor due to being a religious figure (a priest or miko).

-Sensei: A teacher, martial arts instructor or sometimes can be used to address a doctor.

-Sempai: This is mostly used in martial arts and sports, but I've seen it used in the workplace as well. It's the term for a student who has more experience than you, but is still a student and not at the teacher's level. Might be the captain of your sports team, the longest-term student in the dojo, or the person who's got seniority above you in your job.

Raven
Mon, 03-29-2004, 09:24 PM
Answered, and locked.