Japanese Greetings and Honorifics: さん, くん, ちゃん, せんせい
Two things instantly mark you as a thoughtful learner of Japanese: greeting people correctly, and knowing what to add after someone's name. Neither is hard — but both carry real social weight. Here is what every beginner should know.
Greetings by time of day
The most common greetings change with the clock:
- おはよう (ohayō) — "good morning." The fuller, polite form is おはようございます (ohayō gozaimasu).
- こんにちは (konnichiwa) — "hello / good afternoon," used through the daytime.
- こんばんは (konbanwa) — "good evening."
Notice that こんにちは and こんばんは end in は, pronounced "wa" — the topic particle again (see Japanese particles).
Meeting someone for the first time
When you are introduced, two phrases do the heavy lifting:
- はじめまして (hajimemashite) — "nice to meet you," said right at the start.
- よろしくおねがいします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu) — a polite "I look forward to our relationship," to close the introduction.
They are the backbone of a self-introduction — here is how to introduce yourself in Japanese.
Honorifics: what to add after a name
Japanese almost never uses a bare name. You attach an honorific suffix that signals your relationship and your respect:
| Suffix | Roughly | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| さん | Mr. / Ms. | the safe, polite default for almost anyone |
| くん | — | boys, or male peers and juniors, often from someone senior |
| ちゃん | — | children, close friends, pets — affectionate and casual |
| せんせい | teacher / doctor | teachers, doctors, and other experts |
So Tanaka might be たなかさん (Tanaka-san) to a colleague, たなかくん (Tanaka-kun) when a teacher addresses him, or たなかせんせい (Tanaka-sensei) if he is your instructor.
The rules people get wrong
- Never add an honorific to your own name. They show respect to others; using one about yourself sounds arrogant.
- Closeness drops them. Close friends and family often use just the name (or ちゃん / くん). Switching to a bare first name too early can feel overly familiar.
- When unsure, use さん. It is polite and almost never wrong.
- せんせい already means "teacher" — you do not add さん on top.
Anime vs real life
If you picked up Japanese from anime, you have heard くん, ちゃん, さん, さま and せんぱい thrown around constantly. That is real — but anime exaggerates. In everyday adult life, さん carries most conversations, and the flashier suffixes (さま for near-reverence, ちゃん between close friends) are used more sparingly than a binge-watch suggests.
Get greetings and honorifics right and even simple Japanese sounds respectful and natural. The fastest way to make them automatic is to say them in real situations — practise out loud on Llearny.