Sama
- Thread starter Belenka
- Start date
"sama" is one of the honorifc suffixes often used in Japanese and is used to show more respect and courtesy as compared to "san" a more commonly used honorifc. Fujiwara sama is correct. I would put - between them or simply leave a blank as you did. Good luck on your study
Welcome to Japnaese Forum. 日本語フォーラムへようこそ、 Belenka!
Sama is not Mr. or Mrs. It is more an arcane title used mainly in writing letters.
Usually we go by san. E.g., Mr. Fujiwara is 藤原さん or Fujiwara-san.
Note: I use hyphen to separate the name and the title but others may use space. There is no official notation.
Sama is not Mr. or Mrs. It is more an arcane title used mainly in writing letters.
Usually we go by san. E.g., Mr. Fujiwara is 藤原さん or Fujiwara-san.
Note: I use hyphen to separate the name and the title but others may use space. There is no official notation.
I have a question that I think is related, and I have never understood what is correct.
Suppose that I write a letter to Mr. AND Mrs. Fujiwara: how would I do that?
Gaer
Gaer san,
藤原様 is Mr. OR Mrs. In Tokio, they use more often "Fujiwara sama "
than in Osaka, in prestigious restaurants, and in business contacts.
Elderly high society woman even say あなたの おかあさま
Ｈｉｒｏ Ｓａｓａｋｉ
藤原様 is Mr. OR Mrs. In Tokio, they use more often "Fujiwara sama "
than in Osaka, in prestigious restaurants, and in business contacts.
Elderly high society woman even say あなたの おかあさま
Ｈｉｒｏ Ｓａｓａｋｉ
Thank you. I corrected it. What a silly mistake!You surely meant Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara?
Ah, I would never have guessed, but now it is totally clear. Thank you.
Gaer
Sasaki-san,
Thank you for clearing that up. I have so many questions because I know so little.
ゲーリー
You NEVER put it after your own name, you ONLY add suffixes to other people's names.
The only exception are girls talking "cute" about themselves adding "chan" to their own names. Eg, a girl called Ai saying "aichan wa shitakunai!" to say "I don't want to do it".
Actually, it's usually considered impolite for us to use "Mr." or "Mrs." with our own names, especially as a signature.
I would address someone else as "Mr. Smith". But I would only sign my first and last name. I would never use "Mr."
Gaer
Gaer san,
I don't know sure the intention of the remark of Spiceman. But, I sometimes heard the beginners of Japanese language saying " Watashi wa sumisu san desu" or " Watashi Hose kun desu. " That sounds funny of course.
But, in the Spanish speaking world, I think that in some cases, they write
" Sr. Jose Carlos Alonso Huertas " to himself to make it clear que he is not
a woman, I suppose.
Many people who are learning Japanese have different cultural backgrounds linguistically. Many people believe errouneouly that
the native speakers of English who don't know nothing of Japanese
language and Japanese culture can be good teachers of English,
because their minds and English are not "polluted" by the Japanese
way of thinking.
Hiro Sasaki
I don't know sure the intention of the remark of Spiceman. But, I sometimes heard the beginners of Japanese language saying " Watashi wa sumisu san desu" or " Watashi Hose kun desu. " That sounds funny of course.
But, in the Spanish speaking world, I think that in some cases, they write
" Sr. Jose Carlos Alonso Huertas " to himself to make it clear que he is not
a woman, I suppose.
Many people who are learning Japanese have different cultural backgrounds linguistically. Many people believe errouneouly that
the native speakers of English who don't know nothing of Japanese
language and Japanese culture can be good teachers of English,
because their minds and English are not "polluted" by the Japanese
way of thinking.
Hiro Sasaki
In the UK same sex marriage is legal so it is a valid supposition here (well, it would be if "Fujiwara" were a common surnameYou surely meant Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara?
藤原さんご夫妻
).Yes, that was exactly what I was thinking.
I think I've never seen that, and I would consider it wrong.
I understand.
If you mean that they are good teachers for Japanese people, I think this is probably a very wrong assumption. I would much rather get help with Japanese from someone in Japan who also knows English well. Such a person, I believe, is more likely to understand my problems!
Gaer