San, Chan, Kun, Sama — Japanese Name Honorifics
Why almost no Japanese name is said bare — the honorific suffixes -san, -chan, -kun and -sama, and what it means when someone drops them.
In English, calling someone by their bare first name is the default. In Japanese, a name almost always carries a small suffix that signals the relationship between speaker and listener — dropping it entirely is actually the marked, more intimate choice, not the neutral one.
The core honorifics
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| さん | さん san | the all-purpose polite suffix — safe for almost anyone, of any age or gender |
| ちゃん | ちゃん chan | affectionate, used for small children, close friends, or cute things |
| くん | くん kun | used mainly for boys and young men, or by a superior addressing a junior |
| さま | さま sama | formal and respectful, above -san — used for customers, in letters, or for deities |
Titles that replace the name entirely
In many workplaces, a person's job title outranks their name as a form of address. A department head is called 部長 (buchou) to their face, not Tanaka-san, even by people who know their name well. Teachers, doctors, and other licensed professionals are addressed as 先生 (sensei) the same way — see keigo for how this connects to Japan's wider honorific speech system.
Titles used instead of a name
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先生 | せんせい sensei | teacher, doctor, or other respected professional |
| 部長 | ぶちょう buchou | department head/manager (workplace title used as address) |
| 先輩 | せんぱい senpai | a senior member of a school, club, or company |
| 後輩 | こうはい kouhai | a junior member (rarely used directly as address, unlike senpai) |
When someone drops the suffix
Calling someone by their bare name with no suffix at all — 呼び捨て (yobisute, “throw-away calling”) — is reserved for very close friends, family, or children. Hearing it used on you for the first time by a Japanese friend is often a small, genuine sign the relationship has become close. One rule has no exceptions: you never attach any honorific to your own name when introducing yourself.
🔊 Tap any word in the vocabulary tables to hear it spoken.