One day, you decided to change the channel, watch something new, and found yourself immersed in the world of anime. Now you simply can't stop watching. Welcome to the otaku world! We know it’s confusing, but we are mostly friendly. And we have cookies!

So like any subculture out there, anime has slang; special words used in certain ways within Japanese society and that have been changing through time. We otaku also contributed to the changes of words usage, as anime has crossed the borders of its original country and now is enjoyed all around the world. So this time, we are going to explain several suffixes that you surely have heard in your favorite anime series. Remember, an informed otaku is a good otaku.

One characteristic of Japanese is that it's an agglutinative language. This means we have some letters forming a root word and then we can add some stems that act as branches to form a sentence. Adding other stems (like leaves) right after the original word modifies the meaning, making it more specific. The “branches” and “leaves” makes it easier to identify the meaning and intention of the words.

This is basically what happens when we hear “name-chan” instead of a plain name. In Japan, name suffixes help us knowing how we stand towards a person within their hierarchical society. It would be rude to address a superior (a boss) in a familiar or even in a plain manner, for example. Suffixes might sound as medieval or even dictatorial, but they also can help us to show affection towards other people, as we will see soon.

Probably the most heard name suffix by new otaku is -san. After all, it has been used in famous American movies like Karate Kid. -san is derived from -sama, which we will explain a little bit later. Anyway, using -san after a name shows respect towards an equal of age, school grade or status. It's used to address people, but on these days, it can also be used for pets or objects.

-sama is used for people who have a higher rank than the speaker, so we can find it in postal information, business mails, customer support, and similar situations. On daily conversation though, is a little bit more rare to hear. Kami-sama (meaning God) is also written with this suffix, but if you happen to find someone who call themselves “name-sama”, this shows arrogance. You have been warned.

We know that Japanese have a special spot on their lives for everything cute. Under this logic, -chan is the cute version for -san which shows that besides respecting someone, we are fond of that someone. The suffix -chan tends to be used for young family members, from babies to teenagers, but it can also be used for grandparents. Still, these days -chan can be used for everything we find cute. Remember Kitty-chan? Yes, Hello Kitty is called Kitty-chan in Japan.

We also have to be careful, as using -chan to call someone from a higher rank is considered rude. So please, make sure the person you want to address using -chan thinks of you as a close or dear friend. A person calling themselves “name-chan” is considered childish also, so if the motivation behind it is to have a cute effect, there is no further problem. Just notice that in work or formal environments it will sound out of place.

This suffix is commonly used for men and children, but it also can be applied by persons in a high status when they refer to any person in a lower status, especially in formal environments like school or work. It is not uncommon to hear Professors calling their female students with the suffix -kun. It is also interesting that male freshmen in companies call their superior female colleagues with this suffix also. But maybe the most important usage for -kun in the world of anime is that it's a favorite suffix for girls to show affection towards a certain guy.

So, here we have the explanation for the most common suffixes in the anime world. The Japanese language can sound a little funny or even complicated at times, but it has also shown us that it has a cute side, right?

Also there are other unusual suffixes in the Japanese language, but that's material for future articles. We hope you enjoyed this brief explanation full of Japanese culture. Now you can go and call your friends in a proper otaku and fun way (just ask them first if it’s ok!). We are also open to all your suggestions and comments. See you soon!