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 [ohayou] — "good morning." The fuller, polite form is おはようございます [ohayou gozaimasu].
- こんにちは [konnichiwa] — "hello / good afternoon," used through the daytime.
- こんばんは [kombanwa] — "good evening."
Notice that こんにちは and こんばんは end in は [wa], 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 onegaishimasu] — 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 [san] | Mr. / Ms. | the safe, polite default for almost anyone |
| くん [kun] | — | boys, or male peers and juniors, often from someone senior |
| ちゃん [chan] | — | children, close friends, pets — affectionate and casual |
| せんせい [sensei] | 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 [kun], ちゃん [chan], さん [san], さま [sama] and せんぱい [sempai] thrown around constantly. That is real — but anime exaggerates. In everyday adult life, さん carries most conversations, and the flashier suffixes (さま [sama] for near-reverence, ちゃん [chan] 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.