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Suffix
| A suffix (originally meaning 'appearance') that indicates the speaker's/writer's politeness towards someone. | Mr; Miss; Ms; Mrs |
| 【Related Expression: ちゃん; 君; さん】 |
(a). 王様の耳は驢馬の耳だ。
The King's ears are donkey ears.
(b). 神様を信じますか。
Do you believe in God?
(c). 花子ちゃん、今夜はお月様もお星様も奇麗ねえ。
Hanako, aren't the moon and the stars beautiful tonight!
(d). お母様、どこにいらっしゃるの？
Mother, where are you going?
(e). お客様が見えたよ。
Our guests have come.
1. The reason why 様 'appearance' is used to show one's respect is that 様 allows one to refer indirectly to one's superior. For instance, 山田様 is a more indirect way to refer to a person called 山田 than to call him simply 山田, because 山田様 literary means 'appearance of 山田'. Note, however, that a personal name+様 is not used in conversational Japanese, except in highly polite speech used to clientele by clerks/attendants of hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, department stores, etc.
2. 様 attached to a personified object shows more endearment than respect, as in Example (c).
3. 様 can also be attached to some action or state related to the hearer, as in (1) through (5) below:
4. In written Japanese, especially after the addressee's name in a letter, etc., 様 is used as in:
【Related Expressions】
I. Two related forms, さん and ちゃん are derived from 様 through phonetic modifications. さん is the informal version of 様 and therefore less honorific and more intimate than 様. Except for Examples (a) and (b), in which the highest superiors appear, 様 can be replaced by さん. さん can also be attached to names of occupations and titles as in:
[1] Name of occupation+さん
[2] Title+さん
ちゃん is used with children's names or in child-like language. Normally this suffix is attached only to kinship terms or first names as in:
[3] Kinship terms+ちゃん
[4] First name+ちゃん
II. 君 is a similar Sino-Japanese suffix which can be attached to a male equal or male inferior's first name and/or last name. It is sometimes used to refer to a female or a male in an institution such as a school or a company. Etymologically 君 has nothing to do with 様 and its variants.
(⇨ 君)