name suffixes

I've been quite recently. I have never been a great note-taker. I was suggested to add this part:

さん

This is the standard “name-ender.” You pretty much can’t go wrong with this one. If you’re not sure, use さん.

〜くん（君）

This name-ender is mostly used on younger men (even younger adults). When you’re an equal with someone, or higher rank than someone (this could be age, position, etc), and you’re talking to a guy, くん is a viable option. Then again, if you’re meeting someone for the first time or you don’t know someone very well, it’s always safer to stick with さん, even if you are older / higher ranking than someone. You’ll also see くん being thrown around to kids and boyfriends, too (because girlfriends are our bosses, you know?).

I would never use this since I hate rank, but hey, I bend over to talk to toddlers so I am not towering over.

〜ちゃん

This is mainly for girls or young children. It’s pretty affectionate in a “you’re my kid / little sis” kind of way. You’ll also see it being used with people who have known each other for a really long time (or just know each other really well). When using ちゃん, a lot of times names will be shortened too. For example, my name (こういち) is shortened to こう so that people can say こうちゃん. As a rule of thumb, you’ll usually want to shorten someone’s name to one or two syllables. Basically, you just need to choose something that sounds good. There are lots of set shortenings as well – you’ll just have to see enough of them to be able to do this easily yourself.

I could say Ro-chan or Robin-chan to my son.

〜せんせい（先生）

せんせい means “teacher,” so whenever you’re talking to your teacher you’d attach this to their name (preferably their last name). Maybe you’d call me こういちせんせい? You’ll also hear せんせい being used with doctors as well, maybe because they think they’re all that.

〜せんぱい（先輩）

This is somewhat similar to せんせい, except it’s for peers who are higher (level, rank, grade, what-have-you). You might add this to the end of someone’s name who is a grade or two ahead of you in school, or more skilled at you in some kind of trade, like woodworking, for example. Don’t confuse this one with せんせい. This is more like a hierarchy / relationship between students and people who are not the teacher.