Japanese Name Prefix Thingy Help

[The_Ginatron]

Ok so when I watch anime (which is quite often) I always notice words that come after a name like name-word, and id really like to know what they mean, i can guess them but i'd like to know for sure. These are the ones i'd like to know what they mean:

San
Kun
Chan
Senpai
Sensei

These are my probably terrible guesses at what they mean:

San - when talking about yourself?
Kun - talking about a boy?
Chan - talking about a girl?
Senpai - elder? guide?
Sensei - teacher?

Could someone tell me what they actully mean because it's been bugging me and i dont trust my guesses lol.

P.S. i hope this is the right forum i wasnt sure where to put this.

[I Eat Dictionaries]

San - when talking about yourself? You never put any of these after your own name. It's more formal, you could put it with close friends, but it's more used to be more polite to people you don't know very well.
Kun - talking about a boy?
Chan - talking about a girl?
Kun and chan can be used for either gender, -kun is more for males, -chan is more for females, but it's only used for close friends.
Senpai - elder? guide? Upperclassmen
Sensei - teacher? Yep.

[The_Ginatron]

Thank you!!
3nodding

[Euphonious Cantabile]

NO NO NO.

YOU NEVER refer to yourself by ANY suffix (for example, if your name is Ann and you say "Ann-san wa Amerikajin desu" to a native Japanese, to them, it sounds like you are referring to yourself in the third person, like so: Miss Ann is American) so "-san" does not mean "talking about yourself".

San is the equivalent of "Mr", "Miss", and "Mrs" When you attach -san to the end of someone's name, you are indicating respect. However, -san does not have the same level of respect as -sensei.



-kun is used to refer to young boys in the elementary school level. While rare, it can also be used to refer to girls. In high school, a junior girl can referred to as "name-kun" by the seniors.

-chan is used to refer to little girls. It can also be used between close friends. For example, in the movie Taiyou no Uta, even though Kaoru is 19, her friends still call her 'Kaoru-chan,' because she is a close friend.

Senpai is a term of respect between a younger person and an older person. In high school, a freshman would call anyone in a higher grade "senpai", a junior would call a senior "Senpai", and so on.

Sensei, of course, means either "teacher" or "master"

[Sakura Latte]

You're never supposed to put honorifics after your own name. When you watch anime, do you ever hear a character introduce themself as "watashi wa Sakura-chan desu"? No. It is very impolite and downright rude if you attach an honorific to your own name. Anyone who does this is immediately shunned and glared at in Japan.

San= equivalent of Mr., Mrs., Ms., and Miss.
Kun= mostly used for boys, but it can also be used towards girls of a lower work status
Chan = mostly used for girls, but I've seen anime where boys had this honorific stuck to their name as well. It's used between close friends or lovers. You never refer to your mother with "-chan."
Senpai- upperclassmen. Example: If you're a junior and your friend is a senior, you refer to your friend as a "senpai" and your friend would call you "kohai".
Sensei- teacher (doctors are also called sensei as well)

[I Eat Dictionaries]

oh yeah. forgot to add in the mr/miss/mrs thing. >.>