SO sorry for the delay guys but I finally got my next video out! Its on the Anime Suffixes or "Honorifics"
And the transcribed text...
Learn Japanese | Anime Suffixes
Hey everybody, as usually I’m Ken Cannon, and today I’m gonna be teaching you guys the Most Common, Japanese Anime Suffixes.
This is of course to offset a little bit what I taught you guys last week. The Top Ten Anime Cuss words! Aka. How to be a dick head in Japanese!
Hopefully this video will add some politeness to your Japanese vocabulary, so you can thoroughly de- dickhead yourself.
Now most of you if you’ve been watching anime for, 5 minutes, you’re familiar with what these are. In technical jargon, there called honorifics.
And for you guys I’m gonna to try to include a bit more of detail on how the word is actually used, and hopefully some stuff you didn’t know.
But for the rest of you Anime Noobs, Japanese suffixes or honorifics are little titles stuck to the back of a name. In other words, I would be known as Ken-sensei. Although that makes me sound old and gross, so please don’t call me that. J
Alright! Getting started!
With the most common Japanese suffix
-San
San is often equated to the English Mr. or Mrs. But here no one really uses those terms unless you’re old and balding so I find that translation rather inaccurate. However the meaning is correct, in that it’s mainly used for adults, and as a sign of respect for people you don’t know very well.
(Pronunciation guide)
In Japanese San is the defacto, so if you don’t know what to call someone, san is usually the way to go.
(man dressed in womens clothing)
Konichiwa desu! Sakura to moshimasu!
Konichiwa… sakura…san
With san, make sure you never refer to yourself with it, because it’s a symbol of respect. It would kinda sound like your worshiping yourself.
(Naruto clips)
Now the rule of thumb on when you become a –san (i.e. graduate from some of the other suffixs I’m going to teach you) Is for girls it happens when you graduate middles school or junior high, and boys, after graduating high school.
And yes the implication here is maturity.
Okay! Moving on to the next commonly used honorific
-chan!
This suffix is actually more common than -san in anime, and is used as an expression of endearment, so as you might guess, it’s the default for young children and girls.
(Pronunciation guide)
You can also use this term if you a sexist old bastard and want to pick up on younger women.
Ne, ne ojou-chan, ima kara doko ka, ikanai?
(man dressed in women’s clothing)
This phrase is also commonly used when referring to pets or animals..
Gomen ne neko-chan… oven wa atsukatta?
So if you’re a guy older than 12 and someone calls you this, it might be a good time to use your newly learned “Temee”
(Naruto clips)
Ok, the next commonly used suffix is,
-Sensei!
This suffix in it’s root, means teacher
(pronunciation guide)
However something that sets this suffix apart, is that while –san and –chan must be attached to the back of a name, you can use sensei by itself.
As a pro-noun of sorts
Now sensei doesn’t mean just “teacher” , it can also used when referring to doctors, poets and evem manga artists or manga- ka. Basically you can use sensei to pretty much refer to anybody with a certain level of mastery in a subject.
Sensei! Anata no toenail clipping skills wa saiko desu!
And here’s some examples from naruto
(naruto clips)
Okay on to suffix number 4
-sama
This honrific is used a lot more in anime than in actual real life. And it’s used to show extreme respect for someone
(Pronunciation guide)
Now as I said this phrase is a lot more popular in anime than in real life, most likely because you can sometimes equate this suffix to (king). And in Anime there is a lot more kings and queens than in real life… besides me of course.
“temeera ore nit suite koi”
(man in womens clothing)
“hai! Ken-sama!”
Now in Real life this phrase is most often heard when referring to customers of a business, as in okyaku-sama.
Other uses like I mentioned above would be when referring to actual kings or presidents, Obama-sama?
(Naruto clips)
Alright and the last honorific for today’s lesson is!
-Kun!
This is used mainly for younger males
(pronunciation guide)
Now like I said boys generally graduate this term until college, but it’s also pretty common for a boss to call an employee -kun no matter his age. Basically you use it for male younger or lower than you in status.
George Bush – kun?
-Kun can also be used by girls on a guy they’ve known for a while or are particularly found of.
“Ken-kun ttara!”
And here’s some examples from naruto.
(Naruto clips)
Now to do a little re cap…
San, the defacto
Chan, for little ones
Sensei, for teachers
Sama, for kings
And Kun, for boys
Alright! As a side note really just want to thank everybody for all your comments, subscriptions and wonderful encouragement you guys have given me this past month. And I know I went on a bit of a hiatus for about 3 weeks.
My brother actually came to visit me from out of state so I really wanted to maximis the amount of time I had with him. So sorry. But I’m back in my grove again so please subscribe if you like my stuff and I’ll see you guys next week!
Another great video! =]
Thanks a lot for the update. Great as always
omg that was hilarious! you so full of energy! (were you stoned when you made this video? just kidding :P )
Anyways, love the site!
Damit Ken, I can concentrate trough out all the video since you are just simple to hilarious :D Loved this video :)
How long did it take you to learn Japanese?
ken-sensei your the best thanks man
as you've seen ive commented on most of your posts ,so here's another one :D
i dont know if im right or wrong but ive came to think that -san also is used at someone that is at the same level or lower than you ( im refering to age/maturity) and ,-chan to someone that you've known for a while (have seen it mostly used when refering to a girl and even more to youngins) and finally my opinion for -kun i believe it is used to someone that you like as a friend or you think of him as a friend,someone that you know well.but thats just what i believe and if you are sure what i said is wrong please inform me so i could know about it as well..would really appreciate it .please contact me here ,at my email : mstartev@abv.bg or at my youtube account MangeyoukouMaster .thanks alot again
you've helped me so much, arigato >:) i've been watching anime so much that i know some japanese words :D
I am a new in this site but I see that you know much more than me. Your videos are very effective to be watch by anyone who wants to learn Japanese and the more good thing is you indicate your story every videos for that I'm really glad I've open this site you are even worthy to be called sensei........ so Ken~sensei domo arigato nimo kakawaruzu........ :)
hi^_^i started also by watching anime(La Corda D'Oro ~primo passo~)and most of the time i heard in this anime chan,sama,sensei and kun i got a little confused but thanks to this video.
cant wait for the next video of you:)
nice day.....
どうもありがとうございました:)
You really enjoy this... and that's the secret of your success
Thank you to share it...