How Japanese Name Endings Work

Have you ever wondered what all those suffixes added to the ends of Japanese names mean? They can be quite interesting, so I’ll go through them for you here. First, -san is the basic name suffix that everyone is familiar with, and it indicates formality, like adding Mr. or Mrs. to a name in English. Used with the last name usually (e.g. Fujita-san), it can also be added to the first name (Tomo-san) to indicate some politeness while also showing a measure of familiarity. In business settings, companies are referred to collectively with –san, too, e.g. J-List-san. Two other common name suffixes, -chan and -kun, are used when talking to girls and boys who are younger than the speaker (e.g. Hanako-chan and Taro-kun), or when you’re close to the individual. Note that males adding -chan to a girl’s name in some situations can be seen as sexist and rude. In Japanese companies or in school settings, there are strict differences between upperclassmen/superiors (senpai) and underclassmen/juniors (kohai), and I can generally tell the relative ages of members of a group by listening to who is more polite to whom. Some other name prefixes that are used often include -sensei (an honorary suffix for teachers, doctors, politicians and — really — certified public accountants); –senshu (athletes, e.g. Ishikawa-senshu when referring to golfer Ryo Ishikawa); and -anaunsah (announcer), a name suffix for newscasters.

The way name suffixes are used in Japan is incredibly complex.