Ask John: Can You Explain Japanese Honorifics?

Question:
I have seen a few anime series that refer to a character as “onechan,” even though that has nothing to do with their name. What does this mean?

Answer:
Japan has a culture situated on a rigid structure of “politeness.” Japanese language is full of “honorifics,” prefixes, suffixes and pronouns added to names or used in place of names to denote relationships or status. These pronouns also allow for a degree of polite civility in conversations between people that have never met before. It’s common for young children to refer to any older teen or young adult as “brother” or “sister,” even though they may have never met each other. Young people also may refer to seniors as “aunt” or “uncle,” “grandpa” or “grandma,” even though there may be no blood relation between them. Generally, domestic anime translations either ignore or work around these honorifics for the benefit of American viewers that are unfamiliar with this element of Japanese culture. For example, subtitled translations often replace “onechan” with the character’s proper name to insure that viewers don’t misunderstand the reference to “sister.” Dubbed productions sometimes work around honorifics by translating them as “Miss” or “Master” or “Lord.” On a related side note, in conjunction with “honorifics,” Japanese names are commonly expressed with the family name preceding the given name, as in Ayanami Rei or Yagyu Jubei. This places the emphasis on the family lineage rather than the individual. This occasionally plays a very significant role in anime, as Japanese people only refer to each other by given name when they are very well-known to each other. In Kimagure Orange Road, for example, Kyosuke refers to Hikaru as the childish “Hikaru-chan.” He initially refers to Ayukawa Madoka in the proper, formal “Ayukawa,” then, as they become closer and eventually lovers, he switches to calling her “Madoka” to signify the change in their relationship. Fans of subtitles may notice sometimes that the subtitles don’t match the spoken dialogue. Domestic subtitles commonly present names in their Western order of given name before surname instead of the Japanese surname then given name so as not to confuse American viewers.

Here’s a brief list of some of the more common Japanese familiar pronouns:

oniisan – brother
oneesan – sister
otosan – father
okasan – mother
obasan – aunt
obaasan – grandmother
ojisan – uncle
ojiisan – grandfather

Here’s a very brief list of some of the more commonly used honorifics and their most common usage:

san – added to the end of names to show polite consideration
sama – added to the end of names to show great respect
kun – added to the end of the names of younger boys
chan – added to end of the names of younger children or girls
senpai – added to the end of names to acknowledge a senior classmate or possibly co-worker
sensei – added to the end of names to acknowledge a teacher, doctor or similar professional
Oh – added to the beginning of pronouns to signify respect, for example, adding “o” to “tosan” (father).