さま / さん Japanese Grammar Lesson
Grammar Type: Suffix
Essential Meaning: Mr. / Mrs. / Ms.
- Name + さん / 様
- E.g. 柴原さん [Mr. Shibahara]
- E.g 柴原様 [Mr. Shibahara]
- 様 and さん are used to show respect to someone by referring to them indirectly. For example, 柴原様 [Shibahara-sama] is less direct than 柴原 [Shibahara] and is therefore more polite. 柴原様 literally means “Appearance of Shibahara“. 様 is extremely formal and conveys a very large difference in social status between the speaker and the referent. さん is less formal than 様 and is used quite frequently.
- First names are generally not followed by 様, but there are some highly polite situation (e.g. customer service) in which first name + 様 may be used.
- E.g. *ジョンさま [John-sama] Affixing 様 to a personal name is strange in most situations. There is a conflict in respectfulness between using the first name (which is very personal) and using 様 (which is very polite).
- E.g. お客様 [Mr. Customer] In the absence of knowing someone’s name, a customer service worker will often refer to a customer / guest as お客様. This is somewhat equivalent to referring to someone as sir or madam in English.
- When 様 is attached to a personified object, it expresses endearment rather than respect.
- E.g. 花子ちゃん、今夜はお月様もお星様もきれいねえ。[Hanako-chan, the moon and the stars are pretty tonight, aren’t they?] In this case, 様 is used to refer endearingly to the moon and stars.
- In some cases, 様 may be attached to some action or state that is related to the hearer in order convey politeness. These usages are mainly idiomatic and may be remembered on a case by case basis.
- E.g. ごちそう様 [Thank you for the food]
- E.g. お世話様 になりました [Thank you for taking care of me.]
- E.g. お気の毒様 [I give you my condolences]
- E.g. お疲れ様 [You must be tired.]
- E.g おかげ様 で元気です [Thanks to you, I’m doing well.]
- 様 is often used in writing when referring to some addressee (as in a letter).
- E.g. 山本様 へ [To Mr. Yamamoto]
- さん is the informal version of 様 and is therefore less formal and more intimate. さん can generally replace 様 when the difference in social status between the speaker and referent is not particularly large (which is most of the time). In these cases, 様 would be overkill.
- E.g. 田中さん [Ms. Tanaka]
- さん is also attached idiomatically to certain occupations。
- E.g. 魚屋さん [A fisherman]
- E.g. お菓子屋さん [A confectioner]
- E.g. 酒屋さん [A liquor dealer]
- E.g. 校長さん [A school principal]
- E.g 市長さん [A city mayor]
- E.g. 課長さん [A section chief]
- ちゃん is used with children’s names and with terms of kinship to express close intimacy.
- E.g. お母ちゃん [Mom]
- E.g. お父ちゃん [Dad]
- E.g. おじいちゃん [Grandpa]
- E.g. おばあちゃん [Grandma]
- E.g. おじちゃん [Uncle]
- E.g. おばちゃん [Aunt]
- E.g 花子ちゃん [Hanako]
- E.g. 太郎ちゃん [Taro]
- くん is is a similar term to ちゃん, but it is etymologically distinct from 様 and is actually derived from Chinese. くん typically attaches to the first or last name of a male equal or someone of lower social status. For example, it may be used to refer to a male or female in an institution setting (e.g. a school).
- E.g. マイクくん [Mike]
- In some cases, an honorific can be affixed to someone’s name based on their position or job title.
- E.g. 田中先生 [Master / Teacher Tanaka]
- E.g. 柴原所長 [Section Chief Shibahara]
- E.g. 菅首相 [Prime Minister Suga]
王様の耳はろばの耳だ。[The king’s ears are donkey’s ears]
神様を信じますか。[Do you believe in God?]
お母様、どこにいらっしゃるの。[Mother, where are you?]
お客様が見えたよ。[A customer has come.]
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