Question about pronouns

4 comments

1. I wouldn’t say that’s a pronoun, rather an honorific.

   I don’t know the context. But I would suggest it depends on what you feel. Like English. Chris. Christopher. Mate. Bro. Chriso. Big man. Oi. Perhaps?

   My Japanese girlfriend calls our cat any combination of molly mollychan mochan motan moch mocha mo.

   Lol. It just depends on which one she chooses. Or whether the cats in trouble or not.

2. Hime-chan’s name is Himeko, so someone calls for Himiko they’re mistaken or talking to someone else… (Himiko *is* also a name).

   Generally speaking, san is more formal, kun/chan are more friendly, no honorific at all is the sign of a close bond (family, very good friends). In the case of women and girls, ‘chan’ is preferred most of the time, but ‘kun’ is sometimes used by superiors, which in this case would school staff.

3. There are multiple parts to this question so I will address them thusly:
   Firstly: Those aren’t pronouns.
   Secondly: I think you mean “kun”, not “kan”.
   Thirdly: to answer your question, shortening a name to its first syllable and attaching a cute honorific like “chan” is a way of expressing familiarity and endearment. It’s a nickname. Like calling your son “Nicky” instead of “Nicholas”.
   You probably wouldn’t say it to someone you’re not especially close to.

4. Chan, kun, San, et al are honorifics and not pronouns. Think of them like Ms, Mr, etc but with more nuance as Chan and kun are heavily related to gender expression and social status and there are honorifics tied to jobs (sensei, hakase, etc)

   Name shortening is the same as diminutives in English (Nate instead of Nathan).

   There are gendered pronouns in Japanese but they are also tied to social status and context.