Umexchan
AshoftheMidnightRose
Umexchan
AshoftheMidnightRose
*was in the mud of the fiel and abandoned for a cleaner glomp target* O_o;;.....::cough:: ......*stands up, covered in mud*........eeewwwwwww......::SMACK-SLAAAASH!!!!::...O_O!!.....*looks to the puddle where the water Chou used to be and the burned hole in the back of the netting* O-O;.....oops.....*sneaks back inside* >_<;;
Sneaking doesn't work very well when you're dirty, Imotou-chan.
rolleyes Shuddup! *hugs getting mud on you then runs away laughing* Oh! By the way. Using chan at the end of Imotou means your looking down on me... Y-Y
*looks at some mud on my arm* No way, Imotou-chan. -Chan is used as a sign of affection.
But I went to find out what Imotou meant, because I actually started to wonder. Because when I looked it up before, I got a different one meaning little sister, and I found this.
TERMS OF FAMILIARITY
English to Japanese (less formal)
Grandfather Sofu (mine grandfather) or Ojiisan (general term for old men)
Grandmother Sobo (mine-) or Obaasan (general term for oldwomen)
Uncle Oji (mine-) or Ojisan (general term for middle-aged man)
Aunt Oba (mine-) or Obasan (genaral term for middle-aged woman)
Big Brother Ani (mine-), Oniisan, Oniisama, Oniichan, Niisan, Niichan, Aniki, etc
Big Sister Ane (mine-), Oneesan, Oneesama, Oneechan, Neesan, Neechan, Aneki, etc.
Little Brother Otouto (never used with "chan" or "kun", except purpose to look him down), "Otouto-san" is used when talking about other person's brother.
Little Sister Imouto (never used with "chan" or "kun", except purpose to look her down), "Imouto-san" is used when talk about other person's sister.Father Chichi (mine-), Otousan, Tousan, Oyaji, Touchan, Papa, etc
Mother Haha (mine-), Okaasan, Kaasan, Ofukuro, Kaachan, Mama, etc.
Brother otoko no kyodai; (in general term) Kyoudai.
Brother, Older ani
Brother, Younger ototo
Sister onna no kyodai; (in general term) Kyoudai (use different kanji with male Kyoudai word, but read same), Shimai.
Sister, Older anne
Sister, Younger imoto
Brothers and Sisters kyodai
Brother/Sister-in-law same as Big/Little Brother/Sister above, but use different kanji (read same)
Children often call strangers by the above family member terms, depending on what family member they consider the stranger in question old enough to be (with the obvious exceptions of otou-san and okaa-san - like in most other places, you don't call anybody but your parents and perhaps your in-laws 'mom' and 'dad'). A good general age range would be:
ojii-san/obaa-san above 60.
oji-san/oba-san between 25 and 60, although this may vary depending on how old one's parents' siblings are.
onii-san/onee-san younger than 25 but older than you. Generally, this doesn't vary all that much.
otouto/imouto younger than you.
To not use an honorific means one of two things; either contempt for the person to whom you're speaking, or else it implies that you share a *very* close relationship with said person. Also note that the terms for big/little brother and sister are often used as terms of affection for close friends whose relationship with you roughly approximates that of a big or little brother or sister.
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