hmm well... i'm getting a little bit confused here... could someone give me a little recapitualion of who chan, san, sama etc etc... are used for? i think i know pretty much but i'm not quite sure anymore... :sheep:

hehe i think i know why you're asking this question Morphee [wink].

You asked the question so here's the answer:

-chan: Denotes familiarity and friendship and used to refer to someone who is the same age or younger. Generally used to refer to female friends, pets and children. Only used to refer to similarly aged males when refering to a boyfriend or lover.

-san: The most common Japanese honorific, used to denote respect and formality, essentially the same as "Mr," "Mrs" or "Miss." Used with a first name to denote familiarity.

-sama: Denotes a large amount of respect for the person. Used for those with higher status such as respected teachers and lords. Also used by women to show a great amount of love and respect for their husbands or lovers.

-kun: Denotes familiarity and friendship when used to refer to male friends of the same age or younger. Can be exchanged with -san. Also used by to refer to younger or lower ranking women, often used in the workplace to refer to ones female employees.

Hope this helps! :)

Most anime fans don't understand the meanings of them ...or just don't care. . . It's rather sad, really.

Chama
A combination of sorts of the two honorifics "Sama" and "Chan", "Chama" is used to refer to somebody who is considered a young master, typically a male.

Chan
Used only in cases of familiarity or friendship, the "Chan" honorific is always paired with names of people of a younger age, typically females. To use it in reference to somebody older than yourself is to show a great amount of disrespect. Chan can also be used in reference to pets.

Dono
An extremely old and typically antiquated honorific, "Dono" is used to show respect and admiration coupled with a degree of personal emotion. The honorific is used when one person wishes to show respect to his superior or one that he or she considers their master.

Hime
Literally, "Hime" means simply princess. This is the only instance in which Hime is used. Anime fans will note the relation to the movie "Mononoke Hime".

Kun
Primarily used in reference to young males, the Kun honorific is placed after the first name and used in casual conversation usually between males that have known each other for quite some time. In extremely rare cases it will be coupled with a female's name, but this is highly rare.

Ko
The "Ko" honorific is similar to the "Kun" honorific but is used entirely in reference to females. It appears during times when one female is addressing another or when a male has an amount of familiarity with a female. A friendly and casual honorific, Ko really shows no particular degree of reverence or respect.

Ouji
The male counterpart of "Hime", Ouji is used in reference to males. It literally means prince. Anime fans are unlikely to come across this word unless paying close attention to Japanese dialogue.

Sa
Used entirely by the female half of the population (outside of instances of homosexual relationships), the "Sa" honorific is used when a wife wishes to refer to her husband.

Sama
Exactly the opposite of the "Kun" honorific, the "Sama" honorific is used in cases when extreme amounts of deep respect are required to be shown. The Sama honorific usually FOLLOWS the family name. A good example is of a student referring to his martial arts master or a soldier referring to his Emperor or superiors.

San
The "San" honorific is the second most versatile of Japanese honorifics second only to "Chan". It is used in both cases of familiarity AND unfamiliarity. In both scenarios, San will be used to donate a certain amount of formality. It is regularly paired with words such as Okaa (mother) and Otoo (father). The arrangement of the honorific is always word-san.

Sempai
Common in organizations when formality is required amongst its members, the "Sempai" honorific is used when a person wishes to refer to his superior. Similar to "Sama" or "Sensei" but somewhat less exalting.

from http://www.animeadrenaline.com/japbasics.shtml

Man... theres soooo many...:sheep:

for reals! ill have to memorize these...thanks for the info keiichi and cole!

aw... thanks a lot papa and cole! ^^

lol! it just hit me and it's pretty silly i have to say but... lool! Aa! Megami(-) Sama might refer to the goddesses' last name... since... if i understood right... sama goes after the person's last name. LOL! i'm silly... :sheep: ... Belldandy can't be called Belldandy Megami... or Urd Megami... lol! nah!

otherwise, i thank you 2 a lot for the help! ^^

There is another that has been forgotten...

Using absolutely no honorific with a person's name also has deep meaning. With someone you are very close with, like a true friend, honorifics are sometimes dropped. Really close friends will sometimes do this... but only when they are really close.

Of course, if someone does this and they are not a close friend, it is considered highly insulting. In Tenchi Muyo, Ryoko does this, using no honorifics for anyone in the household. If you ever wondered why Ayeka seems to fly off the handle with Ryoko for no reason (other than their competition for Tenchi), this is probably why.

Larry

yeah, I can't beleave I forgot that one

I always get a kick out of watching a fansub were the don't include honorifics becouse I usally listen to what is said any way and it one of the only bits of Japaniese that I can actually understand.

oh... it's insulting sometimes not to put any sama, chan, kun etc etc? hmm...

well it depends on the situation and ur relationship with the other person, as it is pointed out earlier.

Yeah, if you aren't REALLY good friends with someone, and do not use an honorific, it can be one of the highest of insults. It is even worse if done with an enemy.

Also of note, the dono suffix is equivalent to the generic term "lord." Tenchi Muyo gets this right, Washu always refers Tenchi as Tenchi-dono, and so in the English version they make it "Lord Tenchi."

As pointed out earlier, the honorific san is usually used with the individuals family name. This is significant because Belldandy calls Keiichi "Keiichi-san." A rough translation would be Mr Keiichi... it is something of an endearing pet name.

Larry

so many rules...

this thread has become a 101 in japanese manners! yay!

lol! if you wish papa-uh..... kun? is that good?