Uploaded August 2012 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Main Character's Name: Minato Arisato
Persona: Orpheus and Pixie
Difficultly: Hard
Date: April 18 to 21, 2009
Social Links: Fool [1 - 2]
Today I will be review some of the honorifics used in the Persona games. Before I go on any tangents or explanations, I want to explain what honorifics are. An honorific is a title or word to show respect, status or politeness. You may have already noticed them being used quite a bit already. Here are some examples of these honorifics: Yuka-tan, Mitsuru-senpai and Ikutasuki-san.
To be honest, I originally found it somewhat annoying to hear these honorifics with English voice actors. It felt like the voice actors were trying too hard to be something they were not. I, however, grew accustom to the honorifics being used and it does not bother me anymore. In the end, I feel that it only adds to the culture being presented here... granted it may not be the most excellent way to experience the culture, it is at least an attempt and it provides an experience that may not have been there if the honorifics were removed entirely.
Moving on, I will go into detail on some of the honorifics.
You may have noticed Junpei calling Yukari "Yuka-tan". The honorific tan is actually a young child's mispronunciation of chan. When tan is used by an adult, unless it is addressing a young child, it could mean the adult is intending to be ironic or sarcastic. I am not really clear why Junpei calls Yukari "Yuka-tan" because he states the he transferred into the school himself and probably has not know Yukari that long. My guess is that is almost like a nickname of sorts since Junpei does not sound like he is trying to be ironic or sarcastic. Yukari also does not take any offense to it when Junpei calls her "Yuka-tan".
San is a term of respect and deference. This is usually used when addressing one's elders, people of the the same class or even when just addressing people one does not know. In English, san is in close analog with titles such as mister and miss.
Kun is a term of familiarity. This is used for mostly boys. It can be used for females as well, but it is most commonly used for boys.
Chan is also a term of familiarity and is used mostly for females. It can be used for males, but unlike kun, it sways in the two extremes. It can be either condescending or intimate for males.
Sensei is probably the most recognizable. This is usually used when talking with professions, most commonly with teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc.
Senpai is used to address a senior (a mentor) figure. However this is not used to address the teacher. To put this into perspective, pretend you are in 11th grade and you live next door to a 12th grader. You would call him senpai. Likewise, the honorific to address a junior figure is kohai. Kohai is rarely used though. Kun is often used inplace of kohai. These types of relationships are generally few and far between here in America. I have noticed this type of relationship in Pokemon games. Anyone ever remember fighting the double battles against the Junior and Senior trainers? They were usually two female characters.
Sama will be the last one I briefly cover. It, essentially, is a very high form of respect that one can give, if not a higher form of san. It is usually used to address authority figures. It can be used to address customers, addresses of mail on letters and packages or someone that is greatly admired.
That is all from me for now. Please enjoy!
Main Character's Name: Minato Arisato
Persona: Orpheus and Pixie
Difficultly: Hard
Date: April 18 to 21, 2009
Social Links: Fool [1 - 2]
Today I will be review some of the honorifics used in the Persona games. Before I go on any tangents or explanations, I want to explain what honorifics are. An honorific is a title or word to show respect, status or politeness. You may have already noticed them being used quite a bit already. Here are some examples of these honorifics: Yuka-tan, Mitsuru-senpai and Ikutasuki-san.
To be honest, I originally found it somewhat annoying to hear these honorifics with English voice actors. It felt like the voice actors were trying too hard to be something they were not. I, however, grew accustom to the honorifics being used and it does not bother me anymore. In the end, I feel that it only adds to the culture being presented here... granted it may not be the most excellent way to experience the culture, it is at least an attempt and it provides an experience that may not have been there if the honorifics were removed entirely.
Moving on, I will go into detail on some of the honorifics.
You may have noticed Junpei calling Yukari "Yuka-tan". The honorific tan is actually a young child's mispronunciation of chan. When tan is used by an adult, unless it is addressing a young child, it could mean the adult is intending to be ironic or sarcastic. I am not really clear why Junpei calls Yukari "Yuka-tan" because he states the he transferred into the school himself and probably has not know Yukari that long. My guess is that is almost like a nickname of sorts since Junpei does not sound like he is trying to be ironic or sarcastic. Yukari also does not take any offense to it when Junpei calls her "Yuka-tan".
San is a term of respect and deference. This is usually used when addressing one's elders, people of the the same class or even when just addressing people one does not know. In English, san is in close analog with titles such as mister and miss.
Kun is a term of familiarity. This is used for mostly boys. It can be used for females as well, but it is most commonly used for boys.
Chan is also a term of familiarity and is used mostly for females. It can be used for males, but unlike kun, it sways in the two extremes. It can be either condescending or intimate for males.
Sensei is probably the most recognizable. This is usually used when talking with professions, most commonly with teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc.
Senpai is used to address a senior (a mentor) figure. However this is not used to address the teacher. To put this into perspective, pretend you are in 11th grade and you live next door to a 12th grader. You would call him senpai. Likewise, the honorific to address a junior figure is kohai. Kohai is rarely used though. Kun is often used inplace of kohai. These types of relationships are generally few and far between here in America. I have noticed this type of relationship in Pokemon games. Anyone ever remember fighting the double battles against the Junior and Senior trainers? They were usually two female characters.
Sama will be the last one I briefly cover. It, essentially, is a very high form of respect that one can give, if not a higher form of san. It is usually used to address authority figures. It can be used to address customers, addresses of mail on letters and packages or someone that is greatly admired.
That is all from me for now. Please enjoy!
