The World of Japanese Suffixes: What Do San, Kun, Chan, Sensei And Others Mean?

Anyone who has come across a manga or anime in its original language has had to deal with it at some point: Japanese suffixes. After each name, depending on some rules, we find another word that often cannot be translated into Italian. It’s almost impossible to see them in manga like My Hero Academia in the Italian version.

Let’s see what the most famous honor suffixes are and what they are for.

• The Kun (く ん) is a suffix mainly used with men and is one of the most widely used. Use the -kun after a name if you are familiar with the person you are speaking to.
• The san Instead, (さ ん) is a much more formal suffix and is the most common designation. It is used between people of all ages and could be translated as “gentleman” or “lady”, but it is also used between school-age boys and girls to indicate a formal relationship.
• The Chan (ち ゃ ん) is a term of tenderness that is particularly used with young children of any gender, but can also be used when there is a very strong friendship between two adults. It is often used among school friends or couples. When used with men, it is more likely to have a feeling of ridicule and may also be considered offensive when used with a man.
• The Sama (様) is an honor on a completely different level and is used to denote high-ranking people such as executives of their own company, people with noble titles, but can also be used to denote people who admire themselves greatly. Sometimes the suffix -sama is also used for deities. For example, “Kami-sama” is used for the Christian god.
• Then there is that Sensei (先生), which is both an actual word and a suffix. Its most famous meaning is that of “professor”, but in reality it is used to define a more general “teacher” or “doctor”. In fact, it is used not only for teachers and tutors, but also for doctors, mangaka, and trainers.
• Finally there too Senpai (先輩) it can also be used as both a word and a suffix. The word senpai denotes an “older companion”, be it a co-worker or a schoolmate, and therefore deserves more respect for his or her superior experience. It is the opposite kōhai (後輩), which, unlike senpai, is not used as a suffix.

Mangakas play a lot with honors, as is the case with Sanji from ONE PIECE, but unfortunately their effect is lost in translations.