Japanese Honorifics

Japanese honorifics are traditional suffixes added to a person's name to convey a level of respect or familiarity with a person. For the most part, they do not translate well into English. Most fanfiction writers will come into contact with Japanese honorifics through fansubbed anime and scanlated manga. Some professional companies do leave them in, with glossaries to explain their meaning and usage, but this does not mean that the fanbrats that follow those series will be any more proficient in their use than others who don't.

Japanese honorifics are one of the few pieces of Japanese that are acceptable for use in English language fics, as long as they are used correctly. If you can't use them correctly, or are not sure of how a particular honorific is used, then you should leave them out. It is best to rewatch or reread the necessary parts of the canon to figure out what honorifics characters use, if you can't remember offhand. Incorrect use of honorifics is counted as a charge by many agents, although not one serious enough to be counted as cause for assassination or exorcism on its own.

It is also important to remember that some canons only use honorifics in their original version because they were originally produced in Japan. Characters such as Alucard from Hellsing and Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing are not likely to use honorifics in everyday speech. Having a character who is not Japanese in canon use honorifics may also be counted as a charge.

The most commonly encountered honorifics in fanfiction are:

San
San is a common suffix to add to a last name, basically the equivalent of Mr. or Mrs. or Ms.

This is acceptable to use for anyone.

Sama
The person being referred to as sama is highly respected.

This is usually not appropriately used in fanfic.

Kun
Kun is primarily used for boys younger than and of your age. It is not appropriate to use for people older than yourself.

Chan
Used for close friends and children.

Calling a stranger chan is disrespectful and rude.

Tan
Tan is a babytalk version of chan, used primarily by small children and people trying to be cutesy.

Calling strangers tan is also disrespectful and inappropriate.

Sensei
Literally "teacher." Usually used for teachers and tutors, but also appropriate when addressing doctors.

Sempai and Kohai
Sempai is used for upperclassman, and kohai is for underclassmen.

If there is a group of three people in the last three years of school, the middle student would be the younger one's sempai, but also the older student's kohai.

Dono/Tono
Also a respectful term, like sama, but has a more political connotation.