Chan and Kun

[laughinghyena21]

Ok what do these prefixes mean? I believe it has something to do with, teenager or child. I am not too sure.

Any ideas?

Doumo

Je na

[Bloodborne]

I believe chan and kun are terms of endearment used for young children or people who you know well. Chan is used for girls, kun for boys.

[laughinghyena21]

I believe chan and kun are terms of endearment used for young children or people who you know well. Chan is used for girls, kun for boys.

I figured much once again doumo.


Ja ne

[brianca]

You can also use them for anything you want to give a cutsie name to, like pets. WanWanChan is a common thing for kids to call dogs.

You can use them to with a noun to make a sort of someone-who-does-this formation. In english we have the -er to do this. We call my daughter a little burper in english when she's gassy and gepuchan in japanese.

They are very much things that you just have to get a feel for in usage more than a rule for when to use them. The little boy, little girl thing is definately the safest usage is you're unsure.

[Outkast]

chan is extremely intimate. An older childhood friend, or a parent might use it with a younger person, for example.

kun is familiar, but not quite intimate. An older associate or higher level coworker might use on a junior associate or coworker.

If you don't see a theme here, then it's that only more senior people use these on their juniors, and primarily if they know one another. There are exceptions of course, but don't use any of these on people you don't know well, and/or those who have a higher status/position than you (unless you are purposely trying to be condescending.)

[annie]

chan is extremely intimate. An older childhood friend, or a parent might use it with a younger person, for example.

kun is familiar, but not quite intimate. An older associate or higher level coworker might use on a junior associate or coworker.

If you don't see a theme here, then it's that only more senior people use these on their juniors, and primarily if they know one another. There are exceptions of course, but don't use any of these on people you don't know well, and/or those who have a higher status/position than you (unless you are purposely trying to be condescending.)

Your Japanese teacher will teach you that -chan is only used between close friends, but it's not as cut and dry as that. At my junior high schools several of the teachers use it with each other. I may have even heard some of the students using it with attached to a teachers name the other day.

You might also be taught that -kun is used with boys and -chan with girls, and while that is true to a degree, -kun has been reclaimed in the same way as certain words that are found to be derogatory in English.

But as a foreigner, it's always best to err on the side of caution, until you know the way that a group works.

And Hello Kitty, is Kitty-chan in Japanese. But Winnie the Pooh is Pooh-san, or Kuma no Pooh-san.

[laughinghyena21]

Very cool. Doumo Mina