Japanese naming rank system??

[CerealKiller]

just a quick question which you guys should be able to answer.

I've been watching a lot of Initial D lately and I've been noticing that when say Itsuki or Takumi speak to Kenji or Iketani (who are older) they call them "sempai" - what does "sempai" mean?

Also when they talk to chicks they put some that sounds like "chan" at the end (eg. Natsuki-chan or Saori-chan etc...) why? oh and Mogi calls Takumi "Takumi-ku" what does the "ku" bit mean?

Thanks.

[yukz2daizzo]

ok heres just what i know, im pretty sure someone can explain it better.

(used instead of san, ie yukio-san)

senpai = someone that they look up to, like iketani is pretty much the older one so they use senpai

chan = is usually what they use for kids, for girls it makes it sound cuter, like crayon shin chan

kun = is what they use usually for teenage guys, ie takumi-kun

[Evo_Lee]

but really it all depends on which ever is cuter...that is for "CHAN" which can be used for guys also.

KUN is not used for just teenage guys but rather for those who are younger then you.

In the office they all call me Troy-kun where as my colleague they call him Glen-chan.

[mcnamg]

whys your colleague called glen-chan?

is it just an office joke or something?

seriously though thanks for the information.

[Evo_Lee]

mcnamg, as I said...saying glen-chan rolls off the tongue better and sounds cuter...if you know what I mean in regards to the Japanese language.

note, pronounced -Gu-re-n cha-n...

[Rezz]

Girls almost always use "chan" to other girls if they know each other, but change that to "san" (after their family name) if they don't know the other.

I'd say if someone used "chan" after a guys name, its almost always for a toddler/young boy... if it's used for an older mature guy it must either be as an office joke, insult, or he's gay and is down with the whole feminine thing... (but I agree with Troy, "Glen-chan" rolls much better than "Glen-kun" so that'd be an exeption)

[CerealKiller]

coolness. thanks for the response guys.

[DaiOni]

I'm gonna disagree slightly - '-chan' is attached to just about anyone by teenage girls (or those who act like teenagers), usually combined with the 'cutsie' tone. The same girls are just as likely to use 'ore' or 'boku' as they are 'atashi'.

sempai is something that is used in many aspects of society (arts, sports, work, etc), but first encountered and perpetuated at school-level - most often in school clubs - the sempai will be the older student who shows the younger students 'the ropes', tutors them, bosses them around, and so on

troy summed up 'kun' very well

-ku I haven't heard myself

[Demon Dave]

Reading through this thread and I just thought, in all the years I've been here I can never, ever recall being called "deibito chan"...

I should clarify I prefer to go by my full name David, when in Japan, mainly because when Japanese kids say Dave (debu) they think it's funny....now anyone who has ever met me can attest, I'm anything but "debu" :)

Could be worse though, I work with a guy at one place, his name is Keith and the kids all call him "kiss Sensei" !

[Demon Dave]

Following on from that (and still on topic I hope ) - for the Japan residents, when in Japan how do other people - students, colleagues etc address you? Do they pronounce your name properly - or just say it katakana style? I hardly ever meet people that actually say "David"...it's always "deibito". Even the teachers and everyone I work with calls me "deibito"....so after a while you get to the point, well I have at least, where people ask my name and I just reply "deibito"...

bugs me a bit though...many of them are keen to learn spoken English, with an emphasis on correct pronunciation and they can't even be bothered to get my name right!

[Rezz]

They don't say "Debido", Dave? They say "Debito"? The "to" and "do" I thought would be easy, but I guess anythings possible!

I for one can never recall being called "Jasutin chan" either... and whenever there were teenage girls around, they had at least a little respect for the guys by not calling them "... chan" unless it was a joke or not being serious...? Even to Japanese guys...

Anyways... I get called "Ji-ya-s-tin"... hahaha pretty boring!

Troy: I'm majorly hungover... cheers for footing the taxi fare

[Demon Dave]

Nah...it's "deibito"...

I think my ignorance when I first got here is partly to blame - you know how it is, you start filling in forms, registering at places and if you don't have your name written down correctly, in Katakana, from the start, then it becomes really difficult to change it later...

funnily enough, about 3 months after I got here, studying katakana, I discovered that it's possible to write "David" almost exactly using katakana - "　デヴィド　" The "v" katakana doesn't appear to be very popular...I mean, Vodafone prefer to write it as "ボーダフォン" rather than "ヴォダフォン" :confused:

[Evo_Lee]

Troy: I'm majorly hungover... cheers for footing the taxi fare

I didn't get up till noon...no worries...buy me a beers next time

[ylwgtr2]

my work mates and I have a unique ranking system for women....its like the the cars at the auction's.....Golden corner(first owner,never been crashed) before damaged and now repaired section(had more hits than the beetles,however a clean unit can be obtained)Damaged unrepaired(a mess,but spend some time playing with it and massaging it on the CAR-O-LINER and it can become come your pride and joy)No paper....for parts(Unregisterable,a complete mess,very ugly) ..it may be something like that

[mcnamg]

:confused:

[Sciby]

My jap lecturer called me 'Su-ko-to'... which isn't too bad. I rarely go by 'Scott' though... pretty much everyone calls me Sciby or Scibes... 'su-kai-bi'?