Japanese honorifics

The Japanese language uses a broad array of honorific suffixes for addressing or referring to people. These honorifics attach to the end of people's names, as in Aman-san where the honorific -san was attached to the name Aman. These honorifics are often gender-neutral, but some imply a more feminine context (such as -chan) while others imply a more masculine one (such as -kun).

These honorifics are often used along with other forms of Japanese honorific speech, keigo, such as that used in conjugating verbs.

Usage

Although honorifics are not part of the basic grammar of the Japanese language, they are a fundamental part of the sociolinguistics of Japanese, and proper use is essential to proficient and appropriate speech. Significantly, referring to oneself using an honorific, or dropping an honorific when it is required, is a serious faux pas, in either case coming across as clumsy or arrogant.

They can be applied to either the first or last name depending on which is given. In situations where both the first and last names are spoken, the suffix is attached to whichever comes last in the word order.

Senpai and kōhai

In Japan, senpai (先輩) is an upperclassman or upperclasswoman, someone of a higher age, or senior and kōhai (後輩) is a protégé or junior. The mentor system is found at all levels of education, and in sports clubs, businesses, and informal or social organizations. The relationship is an essential element of Japanese seniority-based status relationships, similar to the way that family and other relationships are decided based on age, in which even twins may be divided into elder and younger siblings.

The senpai is roughly equivalent to the Western concept of a mentor, while kōhai is roughly equivalent to protégé, though they do not imply as strong a relationship as these words mean in the West. More simply, these may be translated as senior and junior, or as an elder compared with someone younger in the family, company, or organization; the terms are used more widely than a true mentor/protégé in the West and are applied to all members of one group that are senior (the senpai) to all the members of another group (the kōhai). There is usually no average separation in age between a senpai and his or her kōhai.