Just a few things to add, since this is one of my favorite topics...

-chan (sweetie/dear/baby):  Very familiar.  Appropriate for addressing
children, teen-age girls you are friendly with, or your boyfriend or
girlfriend, or entertainers by their fans.  Nabiki -chans Kuno probably
to imply that she regards him as very immature.  Ukyo -chans everyone
because she's from the Japanese equivalent of California and generally

California? No. She's from the Japanese equivalent of the South. The Kansai
dialect in Japanese has, for all intents and purposes, the same lingual and
cultural connotations as the Southern drawl does in the U.S.

maintains a very friendly demeanor.  Ranma calls Ukyo "Ucchan" as a
holdover from childhood.  Arnold Schwarzenegger is called "Arnold-chan"
by his Japanese fans.

<tries to imagine ANYONE calling Schwarzenegger "Arnold-chan"...it doesn't
parse.  o.o>

-kun (pal/buddy):  Less familiar.  Appropriate for addressing teenage
boys, adult male friends, students of either gender when you are a
teacher, professional subordinates.  Yohko's teacher calls her
"Yohko-kun" to maintain an appropriate distance between them.

It's also often applied to girls by elders who are close family friends, or
perhaps relatives...uncles, aunts, what-have-you...but who don't feel the
familiar address appropriate for whatever reason.

An interesting case of this: Genma addresses Akane as 'Akane-kun'. However,
he addresses Kasumi as 'Kasumi-chan'. Nabiki...I don't think he ever
addresses Nabiki directly, actually. I can't say I blame him. ^_^

-dono (Sir/Ma'am):  Slightly deferential, a mark of respect.  Washu
calls Tenchi by this title, perhaps because of his noble lineage,
or because she respects his power.

This honorific is actually more like 'Lord' or 'Lady', in the sense that
it's an indication of higher societal status, but not necessarily an
indication of fealty. Certainly less an indication of such than '-sama',
which, depending on its application (as it has a tendency to be applied in
some...rather odd places), usually carries the connotation of 'Your sword
may pass through me before it passes through <name>-sama, infidel.'

A '-sama' is usually someone whose life you'd put before your own in
importance. A '-dono' is someone you hold respect for, but if the tihs hits
the fan, you could live with letting them cover their own rear. ^_^


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The Eternal Lost Lurker
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