Japanese Honorifics: San, Sama, Kun, Chan and Sensei Explained
Japanese honorifics are small words added to the end of a name (suffixes or prefixes) to show respect, social rank, age, or closenesst. You should try to learn this first さん (san), which works for almost anyone you do not know well (more formal). The others, such as 様 (sama), 君 (kun), ちゃん (chan) and 先生 (sensei), each fit a type of person or relationship.
What are the main Japanese honorifics?
Here is a short Japanese honorifics list with the five you will meet most often.
| Honorific | Romaji | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| さん | san | The safe default for almost anyone: colleagues, neighbours, people you have just met |
| 様 | sama | Very respectful: customers, guests and names on letters |
| 君 | kun | Boys and younger men, and sometimes juniors at work |
| ちゃん | chan | Children, close friends, family members and pets |
| 先生 | sensei | Teachers and doctors |
さん and ちゃん are written in hiragana, 様 and 先生 are usually written in kanji, and kun is written either 君 or くん. If the scripts are new to you, our guide to hiragana vs katakana explains how they differ.
What does san mean in Japanese?
San is a polite, neutral suffix, a little like Mr or Ms in English, but it works for men and women alike. You use it with people you do not know well, and with most people at work or school.
田中さん、こんにちは。
Tanaka-san, konnichiwa.
Hello, Mr Tanaka (or Ms Tanaka).
With people you do not know well, you normally use the family name with san, as in Tanaka-san. Using the given name is more personal, so it is best to wait until the other person uses yours, or asks you to use theirs. For a typical first meeting, see our page about how to say nice to meet you in Japanese, and the greeting above is explained on our page about how to say hello in Japanese.
Sama is the more formal version of san. You see it most in shops, hotels and letters, for example お客様 (okyakusama), a very polite word for a customer or guest.
What do chan and kun mean in Japanese?
Chan and kun are friendly and familiar. They are for people you are close to, or who are younger than you.
- Chan is affectionate. Parents use it for small children, friends use it for each other, often between girls and women, and it is common with pets. It also appears in family words such as おばあちゃん (obāchan, grandma).
- Kun is mostly used for boys and young men, by friends, classmates or someone older. Teachers and senior colleagues sometimes use it for juniors.
Using chan or kun with an adult you have just met can sound too familiar, so start with san and follow the other person's lead.
What are the rules beginners should know?
- Never use an honorific about yourself. When you introduce yourself, say your name on its own. Adding san to your own name sounds odd.
- Close friends and family often drop them. Calling someone by their name with no honorific is called 呼び捨て (yobisute). It is normal between close friends and in families, but it can sound rude with people you do not know well.
- When in doubt, use san. It is rarely wrong, and people will understand that you are being polite.
- Sensei can stand alone. You can say 先生 on its own to speak to a teacher or doctor, without their name.
How LanguaCards helps
In LanguaCards, Japanese words are grouped by JLPT level, from N5 to N1. Every flashcard has audio, and romaji is shown under the Japanese, which you can switch off as your reading improves. Reviews are timed to bring each word back before you would forget it, so polite everyday words like these stay with you.