san and sama

[chihiro663]

when is it right to use -san to address someone and when is it right to use -sama. as far as i'm aware, they mean the same thing.

thanks

 

[JimmySeal]

-sama conveys quite a higher degree of respect than -san. Use it to refer to very important people.

 

[Torebaa]

Side note: in-group members do not need to be addressed by -san, and familiar males can be addressed with -kun

Childhood friends or affectionate relations may refer to each other as -chan

And you never add title to your own name.

 

[hideway]

What do you mean by ingroups?
And you are suposed to use kun/san/chan associated with the family name right? How about if there is two persons with the same family name? Or if they are from the same family?

When is it right to call the person for the first name? And will it have kun/san/chan sufix?

 

[nice gaijin]

-sama is also commonly used for customers at restaurants, hotels, etc...

also, you shouldn't refer to yourself with either the -san or -sama suffix.

-chan is a more childish (cuter) way of saying "san," and is usually used for friends or younger people. It is probably more common to use chan with first names than last names, whereas kun or the other titles are usually attached to the last name (but not exclusively)

 

[Torebaa]

What do you mean by ingroups?
And you are suposed to use kun/san/chan associated with the family name right? How about if there is two persons with the same family name? Or if they are from the same family?

When is it right to call the person for the first name? And will it have kun/san/chan sufix?

Ingroups - members of the same social group, same company, such and such
e.g. ree no Yamaguchi = that Yamaguchi (of our ingroup, known to both of us)

Yes, all suffix titles are added to family name usually unless it's chan which can be used with first names

It is only right to call someone by their first name when you're sure it's right...maybe better if they make the first move? I have Japanese friends that I still call X-kun and X-san. It isn't good to be too personal too fast.... just like referring to someone as anata or kimi when you first meet them (way too personal/close).

 

[hideway]

So how about when you are talking with two persons from the same family? How can you differ them from each other?

 

[JimmySeal]

If they are relatively close acquaintances, you can use
first name+san,
or otherwise it would often be
last name+first name+san

 

[chihiro663]

could someone please tell me the kanji for san, sama, kun and chan please

 

[undrentide]

could someone please tell me the kanji for san, sama, kun and chan please

There's no kanji for san and chan.
様 sama
君 kun