Morimoto Brothers

 

  Aren't they one and the same?? Yes, they're brothers -- it was just now that I knew. Ryutaro is 2 years older than his ototo, Shintaro. No doubt, being adorable is in their genes. *^,^*

Takahashi-san

I was talking to Takahashi-san when a colleague called him on the phone. I heard a lot of, "Arigatougozaimashita," and "Sumimasendeshita," and (of course), "Hai!" 


I found it VERY amusing. 


^o^

Japanese Honorifics

For a non-Japanese like myself, Japanese honorifics/titles take some time of getting used to. For Japanese, they  automatically know how to address people even during their first meeting. (That goes without saying.) From my perspective, these name suffixes show what kind of relationship or the degree of closeness people have. Being a polite culture Japan is, they rarely call people only by their names (except on special instances).


-san (-さん）
       > This is the default suffix that we use to address people older, younger or same age as you both for men and women. You'll never get wrong using this.
           e.g. Takahashi-san or Keiko-san
                  onii-san or onee-san
                  oka-san or oto-san
       > Japanese would say this is the equivalent of Ms. and Mr. (But I don't think so. Can you imagine calling someone forever as Ms.?)


-chan (ーちゃん）
       > Instead of using -san, use -chan for kids or to people younger than you. Using this to people who are the same age or older (rarely) than you means you have a close relationship with them.
          e.g. Taka-chan or Keiko-chan
                 onii-chan or onee-chan
                 oka-chan or oto-chan


-kun (ーくん）
        > Generally used for men who are younger or same age as you. Can also be used for boys and very rarely to girls/women. This also shows a certain degree of closeness.
          e.g. Takahashi-kun
                 Hiro-kun


-sama (ーさま）
        > Used to show the highest form of respect also the most formal
           e.g. goshujin-sama (master/husband)
                  danna-sama (husband/master)
                  okyaku-sama (client/patron)
        > Even though this is the most formal, Japanese don't normally use this in the office setting. Like the examples above, this is used in shops or in houses (their butlers calling their masters or wife calling their husband).


-chama (ーちゃま）
        > Instead of -sama, use -chama for kids; rarely used
           e.g. bocchama (instead of bou-chama; young master)
                  Misaki-bocchama (Young Master Misaki)


-chin (ーちん)
        > Used for boys and girls but not commonly used (as how I've observed it)
          e.g. Tamu-chin
                 Yano-chin


Remember that these are suffixes and should be used after a name. If a Japanese told you to just call him/her by his/her first name (no need to use any suffixes), it means s/he considers you a very good friend.
Texts in green are my side comments. ^^,
Texts in red are the suffixes in hiragana.

あっちこっち 「Acchi Kocchi」Episode 7