Japanese Honorifics: How to Show Respect in Japanese

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Japanese honorifics are small words and titles that show how a speaker understands a relationship. They can signal formality, familiarity, affection, a professional role, or the setting you are in.

You will often see suffixes such as -さん (-san) after a name. English subtitles may turn -san into “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” or “Ms.,” but those translations are only rough guides. Japanese usage does not map neatly onto English titles.

This guide gives you a practical starting point: four common name suffixes, polite prefixes, role titles, and the terms you are likely to meet at work, at school, at home, and in formal writing. If you are building your vocabulary too, start with these useful Japanese words and phrases.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

Table of Contents

• How to Use Japanese Honorifics
• Japanese Honorifics Video
• The 4 Most Common Japanese Honorifics: -san, -sama, -chan, and -kun
• Prefix Japanese Honorifics
• Other Japanese Formalities You Should Know: work, formal writing, school, home, relationships, children, religion, and public titles
• Practise Japanese Honorifics in Context

How to Use Japanese Honorifics

There is no single suffix that is correct in every conversation. The Agency for Cultural Affairs’ guidance on honorific language treats the relationship, situation, and way you want to present yourself as part of the choice.

Use this decision process when you speak:

1. Follow the person’s preference. If they introduce themselves with a particular name or tell you how to address them, use that.
2. Check whether a role title is expected. In a classroom or workplace, 先生 (sensei) or 部長 (buchō) may be more natural than a name suffix.
3. Consider the relationship and setting. A close friend, a customer, and a new colleague may be addressed differently. Workplace and family customs also vary.
4. If you are unsure, start conservatively. A family name plus -さん (-san) is often a useful default for an adult, but listen to what people around you use and ask when you can.

Japanese speakers normally do not add an honorific to their own name. Referring to your own family is more nuanced: the term changes depending on whether you are speaking to a relative, speaking within the family, or describing your family to someone outside it.

Japanese Honorifics Video

The 4 Most Common Japanese Honorifics

San in Japanese

-さん (-san) is a common, gender-neutral suffix used with names. You will hear it between colleagues, acquaintances, and people who do not yet know each other well. It can also appear in established words for occupations, such as お巡りさん (omawari-san, “police officer”) and 店員さん (ten’in-san, “shop assistant”).

-San is often a sensible starting choice, though it does not cover every setting. A role title or a more formal form may fit better.

Sama in Japanese

-様 (-sama) is more formal than -san. It appears in customer service, formal correspondence, addresses, and other situations where the speaker or writer marks particular respect. You may hear お客様 (okyaku-sama, “customer” or “guest”), for example.

-殿 (-dono) is another form you may encounter. Historical dramas use it, but it is not limited to samurai speech or jokes: it also survives in some official documents and formal written notices. Follow the convention of the document or organisation rather than treating it as a general substitute for -san.

Chan in Japanese

-ちゃん (-chan) is an affectionate or familiar suffix. It is common with young children, close friends, family members, nicknames, and sometimes pets. You may also hear it in fan culture or playful speech.

It is not simply “the suffix for girls” or “the suffix for anything cute.” Used without the right relationship, it can sound overfamiliar or patronising. Treat it as something you use after you have heard that person or group use it, not as a default for someone you have just met.

Kun in Japanese

-くん (-kun) often appears when a senior speaker addresses a junior or when someone addresses a boy or young man. It can also be used for women in some schools and workplaces, so it is not a male-only suffix.

The direction of the relationship matters. -Kun is not a way to show extra respect to someone “of lower status,” and it is not a safe suffix to copy into every workplace. Notice who uses it, with whom, and in which setting before you follow suit.

Prefix Japanese Honorifics

お- (o-) and ご- (go-) are polite or honorific prefixes in words such as お名前 (onamae, “name”) and ご住所 (gojūsho, “address”). They can show respect towards the listener’s things or actions, make the speaker’s wording more polite, or be part of a familiar, lexicalised expression. The official classification of honorific language also includes 美化語 (bikago), or beautifying language.

A useful tendency is お- with native Japanese words and ご- with Sino-Japanese words. It is only a tendency. Established exceptions include お料理 (oryōri, “cooking”) and お電話 (odenwa, “telephone call”), so learn these forms as complete vocabulary items.

• お茶 (ocha): tea
• お酒 (osake): alcoholic drink or sake, depending on context
• お金 (okane): money
• お水 (omizu): water
• ご両親 (goryōshin): parents
• ご家族 (gokazoku): family

Do not try to generate every form from the rule alone. Save the prefix with the word, check a reliable dictionary, and notice what speakers use in the situation you are practising.

Other Japanese Formalities You Should Know

Name suffixes are only one layer of address. Japanese also uses professional titles, family terms, and formal written labels. In several of the situations below, the title can replace the person’s name.

Japanese Honorifics at Work

Workplaces have their own conventions. 部長 (buchō) means “department manager,” and 社長 (shachō) means “company president.” You may hear 田中部長 (Tanaka-buchō) or simply 部長 (buchō). Because the role title is already doing the work, adding -san after it is generally unnecessary.

The right form can change when you speak inside your organisation, speak to a customer, or refer to somebody at another company. Rather than applying one rule to every office, copy the wording used in your workplace and ask a colleague when the stakes are higher.

Japanese Honorifics in Newspapers, the News, and Formal Documents

-氏 (-shi) is a formal suffix used especially in writing and news reporting. A writer may introduce someone as 田中氏 (Tanaka-shi) and then use 氏 (shi) alone in later references. It labels the person being discussed rather than addressing the document’s audience.

Japanese Honorifics in School

先生 (sensei) is used for teachers and certain other professionals. In a classroom, you may say 田中先生 (Tanaka-sensei) or 先生 (sensei) by itself. A doctorate does not automatically make 博士 (hakase) the normal form of address; follow the institution’s convention.

先輩 (senpai) describes a more senior member of a school, club, or organisation and may be used as a title or suffix. 後輩 (kōhai) describes a junior member, but it is usually a relationship noun rather than a suffix you attach directly to that person’s name.

Japanese Honorifics at Home

Family vocabulary changes with perspective. When you describe your own family to someone outside it, the unmarked form in the middle column is a useful starting point. For somebody else’s family, use the form in the final column.

Relationship	Your own family	Someone else’s family
Mother	母 (haha)	お母さん (okāsan)
Father	父 (chichi)	お父さん (otōsan)
Older brother	兄 (ani)	お兄さん (onīsan)
Older sister	姉 (ane)	お姉さん (onēsan)
Younger brother	弟 (otōto)	弟さん (otōto-san)
Younger sister	妹 (imōto)	妹さん (imōto-san)
Grandfather	祖父 (sofu)	おじいさん (ojīsan)
Grandmother	祖母 (sobo)	おばあさん (obāsan)
Uncle	伯父 / 叔父 (oji)	おじさん (ojisan)
Aunt	伯母 / 叔母 (oba)	おばさん (obasan)

Direct address inside your own family is another context: children may call their own mother お母さん, for example. Families differ, so do not turn the contrast into a rule that the お- form belongs only to other people’s relatives. The Japan Foundation’s family vocabulary guide gives the same perspective-based distinction.

Japanese Honorifics in Relationships

Couples may use first names, nicknames, -chan, -kun, kinship-style terms, or no name at all. These habits are personal, so there is no single romantic suffix to prescribe.

彼 (kare) and 彼女 (kanojo) can mean “boyfriend” and “girlfriend” when you talk about a relationship; they are not usually pet names used to address a partner. When speaking to outsiders, 夫 (otto) and 妻 (tsuma) are common ways to refer to your own husband or wife. When asking about someone else’s spouse, ご主人 (goshujin) and 奥さん (okusan) are common traditional forms. Usage varies, and some speakers choose alternatives depending on tone and gender assumptions.

Japanese Honorifics With Kids

You will often hear -chan with young children and -kun with boys. -たん (-tan) is a baby-talk or playful variant of -chan that also appears in character and internet language. It is useful to recognise, but it is not a general-purpose suffix for every toddler you meet.

坊や (bōya) can mean “little boy” or “sonny,” and 坊 (bō) appears in some familiar nicknames. Treat these as forms to notice in context rather than suffixes to generate freely.

Japanese Honorifics in Religion

神父 (shinpu) is used for a Catholic priest, while 牧師 (bokushi) means a Protestant pastor. You may see the title after a name, as in ドミニク神父 (Dominiku-shinpu). Forms of address depend on the community, so follow how its members introduce and address their clergy.

Japanese Honorifics in Politics, Royalty, and Leadership

Public roles have titles of their own. These examples let you recognise the role without tying the lesson to office-holders who will change:

• 首相 (shushō): prime minister
• 大統領 (daitōryō): president
• 天皇 (tennō): Emperor of Japan
• 国王 (kokuō): king or monarch
• 女王 (joō): queen
• 王子 (ōji): prince
• 王女 (ōjo): princess

For Japan’s Imperial Family, the Imperial House Law specifies 陛下 (heika) for the Emperor and Empress, as in 天皇陛下 (Tennō Heika), and 殿下 (denka) for other Imperial Family members. 閣下 (kakka, “Excellency”) appears in formal diplomatic language, but protocol differs by country and office.

Practise Japanese Honorifics in Context

You do not need to memorise every title before your next conversation. Start with -san, then collect examples of how people address a teacher, colleague, customer, friend, and family member.

1. Write down the exact name or title you heard.
2. Note the relationship and setting.
3. Try one example with a tutor or conversation partner and ask what they would use instead.

For more listening material, compare the courses in our JapanesePod101 review, or browse these free Japanese lessons online.