These are all examples of Japanese honorifics (there are many more, but those are the ones that I can recall.)
["An honorific is a word or expression that conveys esteem or respect and is used in addressing or referring to a person. "Honorific" may refer broadly to the style of language or particular words used, or, as in this article, to specific words used to convey honor to one perceived as a social superior. Sometimes the term is used not quite correctly to refer to a title of honor (honorary title)." - Taken from
wikipedia.org].
Of course... by the means of respect (in that order), only these apply:
-sama,
-dono,
-san -kun,
-chan.
-senpai,
-kouhai, and
-sensei aren't exactly true honorifics as they are actual words, but are in a sense, because people can be addressed with them.
1.1)
-sama,
-dono,
-san are used for respect, with
-sama having extreme respect (ie. someone of high power, or someone one warships - like a master of a certain skill; can translate to "Lord" or "Master").
-dono isn't really used in modern Japanese. It's even more respectful than
-san, but was a commonly used honorific back in the days of the samurai when they would be addressing the people that they worked for. It can also be used employees addressing their bosses or servants addressing their masters.
With
-san, people usually refer to people with this honorific, until they become more well acquainted with one another. It's the most common used honorific and is the English equivalent of Mr./Mrs./Ms. and is often translated as so.
1.2)
-chan,
-kun are usually used with close friends (
-chan with girls and
-kun with guys usually). Of course... they do have other uses as well.
-kun can also be used as an equivalent of Mr. or Ms. as in the classroom. One more note with
-chan[i/]: If it is used towards a guy, it's usually by means of an insult.
1.3) -sensei means 'Teacher' in English, but it's also another form of respect. Though it is most commonly used with teachers, no matter what profession they're teaching in, it can also be used to address a professional, like a doctor.
1.4) -senpai and -kouhai are are another form of respect. Commonly used by students (a very~ common example). -senpai, meaning 'upperclassmen' is used when someone younger than them addresses them. The reverse if true for -kouhai, which means 'underclassmen' is used when someone older than them addresses them.
Depending on how it's used, it can show how familiar one is with another. In Japan, these are all used and can show how well acquainted everyone is with one another. Though it is commonly used in their culture, whenever it's not used, that can signifies an intimate relationship (no, it does not have to be like a sexual relationship). Close friends and family will usually not use honorifics with each other, as well as couples who are really in a deep relationship.There are two different ways of spelling out someone's name: First name, Last name format or Last name, first name.
2.1) First name, Last name format: aka Western format. Outside Asia, pretty much everyone else uses this formatting, including me (as I live in the U.S.). And with addressing people, people (in their own age group) usually refer to each other by their first names (besides nicknames), unless they're adults (of any profession, other people's parents, etc.) or adults who don't mind being called by their first name. Other than that, honorifics aren't commonly used (other than Mr., Ms., Mrs., Miss, Dr., etc.) in Western culture in everyday conversation.
2.2) Last name, First name format: aka Asian format. In Asia, names are pretty much always spelled with the person's last name (or surname) first before their first name. I'm not exactly sure about other Asian countries, other than China (as I am Chinese) and Japan how honorifics are used, if any. From what I've noticed, many Chinese people don't really use honorifics, besides the Chinese equivalents of what I mentioned about Western culture. In Japan, however, it's very, VERY commonly used. In Japan, everyone addresses each other by their last name + honorific until they're more acquainted with one another.
Icery's endnote: I've seen both of these formats used and since I'm used to the Western format, I always (more like 99% of the time) refer to a character by their first name and will write their name in that format, like I do for Crescendo.
4.1)
aishiteru: love (the verb). It's used specifically for romantic love.
4.2)
arigatou: (thanks, thank you)
4.3)
baka: idiot, fool, stupid, etc. (all-purpose insult)
4.4)
chotto matte: "wait a minute!"; "chotto" means (among other things, it's a multi-purpose word) "a little bit/for a short time" and "matte" (the request form of the verb "matsu") means "wait".
4.5)
daisuki desu/da: I love you. "suki" means "like" and "dai" makes something more important (for example, "kirai": dislike, "daikirai": hate). This word refers to boyfriend/girlfriend-type love, not romantic marriage-type love. "daisuki" can also be used to describe your favorite things.
4.6)
dame: literally "bad". It's often used the way we say "no!" as in "don't do that!"
4.7)
damare: imperative form of the verb "damaru" which means "keep silent". It's used the same way we say "Shut up!" or "Silence!"
4.8)
doushite: "why?", "why not?", "how?", "how come?", etc.
4.9)
doushita (no): "what?", "what happened?", "what's wrong?", etc.
4.10)
ganbatte ne!: "do your best!" This is the friendly request form of the verb "ganbaru" which means "to persevere/do one's best". A stronger command form you sometimes hear (often during sports matches or duels) is "Ganbare!"
4.11)
gomen nasai: I'm sorry; more casual is just "gomen"
4.12)
gochisousama (deshita): a little hard to translate, you say this when you're done with a meal. It means something like "thanks for the food."
4.13)
hajimemashite: "I'm pleased to meet you (for the first time)"
4.15)
irrashai(mase)!: welcome! (used most often in restaurants and shops to greet customers)
4.16)
itadakimasu: this is tough to translate; the Japanese use it in almost the same way Christian people say Grace before a meal. It's a manners thing. It means roughly "I'm recieving/appreciating this food"
4.17)
ittekimasu: "I'm taking off!" or "I'm leaving now!"
4.18)
itte rasshai: "see you later", "please return safely", etc. It's the proper response to "itte kimasu"
4.19)
ja mata/mata na: casual "goodbye"; both literally mean "well, (I'll see you) again"
4.20)
kawaii/kawaiku ne: cute/uncute
4.21)
kirei: pretty, lovely, beautiful
4.22)
koishii, koibito: beloved, lover, sweetheart, etc.
4.23)
konbanwa: good evening
4.24)
konnichiwa: hello, good afternoon
4.25)
kowai: scary, fearful
4.26)
makenai: casual negative form of the verb "makeru" meaning "lose, be defeated, succumb". It's usually translated as "I won't lose/give up!"
4.27)
masaka: an interjection, means "of course not!", "impossible", "that can't be!", etc.
4.28)
mattaku: sheesh, yeesh, jeez, "oh for heaven's sake", etc. General expression of annoyance.
4.29)
moshi-moshi: hello (on the phone)
4.30)
nan/nani: what; "nan da" means "what is it?" or "what the-?" (informal)
4.31)
nan da to: an extreme version of "what", sort of like "WHAT?!"
4.32)
nande: why, what.
4.33)
nan demo nai: an interjection, means "it's nothing!"
4.34)
nan desu te: "what did you say?"
4.35)
nanimo: nothing
4.36)
nani yatten no/nani shitteru no: "what are you doing?" Both "suru" and "yaru" (the colloquial form of "suru") are verbs that mean "to do"
4.37)
naruhodo: "I see", "I understand (what you mean)", etc.
4.38)
naze: why
4.39)
ne: you put this at the end of a sentence to try and confirm information; it means "right?", "is that correct?", "don't you agree?", etc.
4.40)
nigeru: the verb "run away/escape". Most often heard in its request form "nigete" and in the past tense "nigeta" ("He got/ran away!")
4.41)
onegai: please (the full version is "onegai-shimasu" when you're being really polite; if used like a command I've seen it translated as "I beg of you!")
4.42)
otaku: in Japan this words simply refers to a fan of anything (in the unhealthily obsessed Trekkie-ish sense); in America it's used to describe an fan of anime specifically.
4.43)
oyasumi(nasai): good night
4.44)
sayonara: farewell (as in "goodbye forever" or for a long time)
4.45)
sou ja nakute: "that's not what I meant..."
4.46)
sou ka: "I see" or "do I?"
4.47)
sou na: "no", as in "no, that can't be!" or "no way!"
4.48)
sou desu ne: basic meaning is "yes (you're right), it is, isn't it?" A statement of agreement.
4.49)
sou, sou: "oh yeah (I almost forgot)..."
4.50)
sugoi!: awesome!, cool!, great!, wow!, etc.
4.51)
tadaima: "I'm home", "I'm back", etc.
4.52)
urusai: noisy, annoying; when said to someone sharply it takes on the meaning of "shut up!" or "be quiet!" (literally you're telling them that they're noisy; the "shut up" part is implied)
4.53)
wakaru/wakatta/wakarimashita: various forms of the verb "understand" (wakaru)
4.54)
wakaranai/wakarimasen: "I don't understand" (the first is casual, the second polite)
4.55)
yahari/yappari: literally "as expected"; this is a word that is difficult to translate, because it's meaning and uses are fuzzily defined. Common translations are "as I thought", "just as I suspected", "you really are (just as I thought)...", "can it be that you're?", etc.
4.56)
yamete/yamero: request forms of the verb "to stop (doing something)", "yameru"; "yamete" is the standard form, "yamero" is informal male speech
4.57)
yada: an interjection, means "no way!"
4.58)
yare yare: an interjection, commonly translated as "Whew!, "Oh well", "Good grief", "Oh brother", etc.
4.59)
yokatta: an expression of relief; this is the past tense of "ii" (good) so it literally means "that was good", but it usually translates as "I'm so glad" or "thank goodness!"
4.60)
yoshi/yosha!: "all right", "let's go", "let's do it!", etc.
4.61)
yurusenai!: negative imperative form of the verb "permit, allow; forgive" (yurusu); it means "I won't allow/permit it!", "I won't forgive you/this!", etc.
4.62)
zen-zen: "never/not at all"
Icery's endnote: Um, yeah... I personally really don't use mix Japanese phrases with English, other than the honorifics (only when it feels really~~ strange without it), because I don't really think that it shows that you even know Japanese. That and it also shows a typical otaku... >>;
Credit: Words/Phrases 1-63: I copied all the phrases from
here, so it'd save me time from typing all of them. I know many of the phrases, but I wasn't sure on how to spell them. xD;)
4:17 PM Nov 9
