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| Nodame Cantabile |
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| Dong Yi |
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| Minna no Nihongo |
Politeness has always been a critical facet of Japanese culture. Ever since the feudal era, when Japan was a highly stratified society, use of honorifics - which can be defined as polite speech that indicates relationship or status - has played an essential role in the Japanese language. When addressing someone in Japanese, an honorific usually takes the form of a suffix attached to one's name (example: "Satomi-san"), is used a s a title at the end of one's name, or appears in place of the name itself (example: "Hiroko-sensei." or simply "Sensei!")
Honorifics can be expressions of respect or endearment. In the context of manga, anime and even live-action dramas, honorifics give insight into the nature of the relationship between characters. Many English translations leave out these important honorifics and therefore distort the feel of the original Japanese.
Throughout the mangas, animes, and Japanese dramas, you will find Japanese honorifics either written or mentioned every time. For those not familiar with how the Japanese use honorifics and, more important, how they differ from American honorifics, I present this brief overview...
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