Japanese


Honorifics // YGO Name Pronunciations


Note: I am no way claiming to be an expert in the Japanese language































Honorifics


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-chan (chahn)



It's used when you're close and affectionate to someone. Most commonly for females and children you are familiar with (Yuugi, Honda, Otogi and Anzu all call Shziuka, "Shizuka-chan").



Example: See Otogi say "Sayonara, Shizuka-chan."




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-kun (kuhn)



Usually used for guys. For a girl to be referred to with a -kun, it would only be by someone older and socially superior to them (like in Fruits Basket, Shigure calls Tohru, "Tohru-kun"). You could use this towards male classmates or guys the same age as you, (Bakura with Honda), friends (Yuugi with Jounouchi), or those younger than you (Anzu with Mokuba). Teachers usually address male students with a "-kun" too.


Example: See Anzu say, "Kaiba-kun, Mokuba-kun!"




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-san (sahn)

This is the most commonly used suffix. You can use it on people who are older than you or people you just want to be polite to, whether you're familiar with them or not. Whenever you're unsure of what suffix to use, you can never go wrong with a "-san". (Shizuka uses a "-san" on Yuugi, Honda, Otogi, Kaiba, Mai, Isis, Bakura, etc.)


Example: See Shizuka call Mai, "Mai-san".




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-sama (sah-ma)

This one indicates very high respect.



Example: See Mokuba call Kaiba, "Nii-sama".



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No suffix?



Last names with no suffix is very rude. First names with a lack of a suffix is rude too if you don't know the person you are talking to. It's all right if you are close to the person they are refering to (family members, friends, lovers, whatever).




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YGO Name Pronunciations


Pronouncing Japanese names can be tricky. This section was created to better educate many fans on how to properly say the names of their favorite ygo characters. Right now, I'm not going to bother with names like "Yuugi" or "Kaiba" since everyone has an already clear understanding with pronouncing those.


Anzu --------- an-zoo --------- [Don't put a big emphasis on the "u"]


Jounouchi --------- jo-no-chee


Shizuka --------- shee-zoo-kah --------- [Like with Anzu, there should be very, very little emphasis on the "u"]


Bakura --------- bah-kuh-rah --------- [It's not "bah-KUR-ah". The dubbed anime Cardcaptors incorrectly pronounced the name "Sakura" the same way as the dubbed Yu-Gi-Oh! pronounced "Bakura". In both of the shows, the middle syllable is incorrectly stressed. In the dubbed version of Naruto however, "Sakura" is said perfectly.]


For an explanation on Malik's name, please go here. She explains it much better than I can.


Let me know if there are any other names from Yugioh you aren't sure of pronouncing.

reverto?