Honorifics - Tumblr Posts

How come Tadashi never calls Hiro "Otouto"? We know in the Japanese dub that Hiro calls Tadashi Nii-San cause that's his title, and Tadashi is a pretty authoritive, respectable figure in Hiro's life. Shouldn't Tadashi be calling Hiro "Hiro-Kun", "Hiro-Chan", or like I said "Otouto", cause they have a pretty affectionate relationship, so it would make sense Tadashi would call him those things. As far as I know though, he just calls Hiro, Hiro (sorry I know zilch about honorifics)

Okay, first and foremost PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ANYTHING YOU CARE ABOUT, DON’T HAVE TADASHI CALL HIRO OTOUTO.  

Yes, “otouto” means “little brother,” but it’s not something you’d ever use to address a person.  “Onii-san/Nii-san” is a respectful title; he’s higher up in the hierarchy than Hiro is, and by calling him that it’s showing respect for his authority.  This goes for a variety of situations; an underclassman will call an upperclassman “senpai,” and employee will call their CEO “shachou.” If you just think about it for a moment, the flip, calling someone by their inferior title, is kinda rude ‘cause it calls attention to their position in a way that doesn’t give them respect, but rather puts them in perspective of being in a lower position.  An older sibling wouldn’t call their younger sibling “otouto/imouto.”  An upperclassman wouldn’t call their underclassman “kouhai,” and a CEO wouldn’t talk to his employees as “shain.” Like, that’s rude, dismissive, and just unnatural.

They would use these terms when talking about the person to another person, aka in third person.  Tadashi could be speaking to someone else, say Nerd Lab, and introduce Hiro to them by saying, “Hey, this is my little brother Hiro.” He would use otouto there because it’s just identifying their relationship to a third party.

(That being said, Hiro would always use Nii-san or a variation when addressing Tadashi when speaking casually.  Yes, Tadashi is a respectable authority figure, but this is just the standard in Japanese for all siblings, just as you would call your parents “mother/father” instead of by given name. I mentioned this in my Speak Your Language comic notes, but if Hiro called Tadashi with just his name while speaking in Japanese, with no “Nii-san”…he would either sound rude/angry, not native, or perhaps hint at a different type of relationship between the two that takes priority over that of siblings…see that post for more details if interested)

It’s…honestly kinda creepy to imagine Tadashi calling Hiro with -chan/-kun suffixes, outside of a joking/mocking context.  Note, in Japanese, the standard with strangers/people you’re not close to is to be very polite; most people outside your immediate friends and family, you’d use -san or their title.  This means that by not adding anything, it already shows that Tadashi and Hiro are close (and you’d never do that to a family member lower in the hierarchy than you anyway).

It’s hard to describe the exact context in which -chan/-kun would be appropriate, but one common usage is when adults are talking to children (I’m talking elementary school or younger) or people they view that way (aka, they knew them when they were that age and they were already considerably older).  Another would be between friends who have established calling each other that way.  It really also depends on the person’s personality; for example, I’m pretty cheerful and throw around nicknames all the time in Japanese Mode, so I attach -chan to most of my Japanese friends names, especially my kouhai.  All of mum’s colleagues who knew me since I was tiny call me with -chan.  If some rando wanted to add “-chan” to my name it’d feel really creepy and fetishizing, and I’d avoid them.

It’s not the rule, again ‘cause individual preferences and context change everything, but I feel adding nothing is the most intimate.  My mom’s friends call me with -chan, but I would be so creeped out if my mom herself did. 

Because Tadashi always interacts with Hiro very maturely, they’re equals, it feels weird to imagine him adding -chan/-kun without good reason/joking context.  Hiro’d be used to old ladies and possibly even some of his older classmates patting his head and calling him “Hiro-kun,” and coming from his older brother, it might even sound condescending or dismissive of their equality.  Given how Aunt Cass interacts with them, I doubt she’d use -chan/-kun for either of the brothers; if she did, it’d make her seem a lot less immediate family.

I hope that helps clear some things up ^ ^;

happy pride people of the internet

is your gender a bit fucky? are you tired of the same old same old honorifics? are you simply just bored and looking for some reading material? well youre in luck!

in my scouring of this site ive yet to find one giant list of alternate honorifics/prefixes/titles or whatever you want to call them (maybe i didnt look hard enough, who knows) so i decided "fuck it! let me make my own." it took a while to find these and i definitely have to thank the gender census for a lot of them. (note: this is probably not all possible prefixes! these are just what i could find and what i could find pronunciations for (excluding part 4). feel free to mention any others & their pronunciations!)

anyways! continue below the part

part one: matching

these honorifics/prefixes/titles look similar enough to mr/ms/mrs/miss while also not being those. and no, its not just mx! note: for space purposes there may be a list of titles with one pronunciation

1. m.

can be pronounced em, mist, messer, master, or magister

2. m*.

pronounced miss-star

3. ma.

pronounced mistra

4. me.

can be pronounced mew or messer

5. mg.

can be pronounced mage or magister

6. mir.

pronounced mir

7. msc. ; misc.

pronounced misk, shortened from miscellaneous

8. mist. ; mrm. ; msm. ; mtr.

pronounced mistrum

9. ml.

pronounced mistrel

10. mm.

can be pronounced mistum or mistrum

11. mn.

pronounced mine

12. mnt.

pronounced mount

13. mq.

can be pronounced mick or marquis

14. mre.

can be pronounced mistree or mystery

15. mrsr.

pronounced merser

16. mrw.

pronounced morrow

17. mry. ; mse. ; mys. ; myst.

pronounced mystery

18. msr.

can be pronounced messr or misser

19. msry.

pronounced misry

20. mssr.

pronounced messer

21. mst.

pronounced mist

22. mstr.

pronounced master

23. mt.

can be pronounced mount or mistrum

24. mtx.

pronounced matrix

25. mu.

pronounced as written

26. mv.

pronounced maverique

27. mw.

can be pronounced mew or morrow

28. mx.

can be pronounced mix, mex, mux, mixter, mistrum, or monselle

29. mxr.

pronounced mixer

30. myr.

pronounced myster

31. mz.

pronounced miz

32. mzr.

can be pronounced mezzir or mezzer

part two: branching

these honorifics/prefixes/titles are the same as part one, but they look different from the "default" format. so many letters. note: for space purposes there may be a list of titles with one pronunciation

1. an.

pronounced any

2. c. ; cap. ; capt. ; cpt. ; cptn. ; ct.

pronounced captain

3. cd. ; cde. ; cmd. ; cmr. ; cmrd. ; com.

pronounced comrade

4. cit. ; ctz. ; cz. ; czn.

pronounced citizen

5. cnst.

pronounced constellation

6. cr.

can be pronounced comrade or cryptid

7. de.

pronounced done

6. div.

pronounced div, shortened from individual

7. dm.

pronounced dame

8. dr.

pronounced doctor

9. drst.

pronounced dearest

10. em.

pronounced as written

11. en.

can be pronounced enby or entity

12. ent.

pronounced entity

13. eu.

pronounced eunuch

14. fh.

pronounced fellow human

15. fw.

pronounced fellow worker

16. hm.

pronounced human

17. hon.

pronounced on, shortened from honorable

18. hx.

pronounced hex

19. ind.

pronounced as written, shortened from individual

20. inv.

pronounced inevitable

21. jan.

pronounced as written

22. lic.

pronounced licenciature

23. nb.

pronounved en bee, shortened from nonbinary

24. nl.

pronounced null

25. nr.

pronounced nister

26. nx.

can be pronounced nix or nex

27. per. ; pr.

can be pronounced per or person

28. phl.

pronounced philosophe

29. prof.

pronounced professor

30. rab.

pronounced rabbi

31. rev.

pronounced reverand

32. sai.

pronounced sigh

33. san.

pronounced as written

34. ser.

can be pronounced ser or serah

35. sr.

can be pronounced sir or serrah

36. syr.

pronounced as written

37. sys.

pronounced system

38. the.

pronounced as written

39. tr.

can be pronounced ter or teacher

40. vd.

pronounced void

41. vr.

pronounced ver

42. vx.

can be pronounced vix or vex

43. xr.

pronounced xer

44. zr.

can be pronounced zir or zeester

part three: sir? ma'am?

these honorifics are specifically meant to replace the sir/ma'am words. they feel different than the other ones so they get their own part.

1. boss

2. captain

3. chief

4. comrade

5. friend

6. gentile

7. m'ir

8. sa'am

9. sai

10. tiz

11. xir

12. zir

part four: how do you say...

these honorifics are ones i couldnt find pronunciations for... if you know em lmk please & thanks 🫰🏾

1. sn.

thats it, i couldnt find a pronunciation for it but i thought it was cool 🤸🏾

thats all folks

i might update depending on the responses i get and anything else i find :)

last edits: 3 jun 2024

reblogging w/ my personal favs cuz why not

part 1:

m.

ma.

mzr.

part 2:

dr.

sr.

part 3:

boss

chief

happy pride people of the internet

is your gender a bit fucky? are you tired of the same old same old honorifics? are you simply just bored and looking for some reading material? well youre in luck!

in my scouring of this site ive yet to find one giant list of alternate honorifics/prefixes/titles or whatever you want to call them (maybe i didnt look hard enough, who knows) so i decided "fuck it! let me make my own." it took a while to find these and i definitely have to thank the gender census for a lot of them. (note: this is probably not all possible prefixes! these are just what i could find and what i could find pronunciations for (excluding part 4). feel free to mention any others & their pronunciations!)

anyways! continue below the part

part one: matching

these honorifics/prefixes/titles look similar enough to mr/ms/mrs/miss while also not being those. and no, its not just mx! note: for space purposes there may be a list of titles with one pronunciation

1. m.

can be pronounced em, mist, messer, master, or magister

2. m*.

pronounced miss-star

3. ma.

pronounced mistra

4. me.

can be pronounced mew or messer

5. mg.

can be pronounced mage or magister

6. mir.

pronounced mir

7. msc. ; misc.

pronounced misk, shortened from miscellaneous

8. mist. ; mrm. ; msm. ; mtr.

pronounced mistrum

9. ml.

pronounced mistrel

10. mm.

can be pronounced mistum or mistrum

11. mn.

pronounced mine

12. mnt.

pronounced mount

13. mq.

can be pronounced mick or marquis

14. mre.

can be pronounced mistree or mystery

15. mrsr.

pronounced merser

16. mrw.

pronounced morrow

17. mry. ; mse. ; mys. ; myst.

pronounced mystery

18. msr.

can be pronounced messr or misser

19. msry.

pronounced misry

20. mssr.

pronounced messer

21. mst.

pronounced mist

22. mstr.

pronounced master

23. mt.

can be pronounced mount or mistrum

24. mtx.

pronounced matrix

25. mu.

pronounced as written

26. mv.

pronounced maverique

27. mw.

can be pronounced mew or morrow

28. mx.

can be pronounced mix, mex, mux, mixter, mistrum, or monselle

29. mxr.

pronounced mixer

30. myr.

pronounced myster

31. mz.

pronounced miz

32. mzr.

can be pronounced mezzir or mezzer

part two: branching

these honorifics/prefixes/titles are the same as part one, but they look different from the "default" format. so many letters. note: for space purposes there may be a list of titles with one pronunciation

1. an.

pronounced any

2. c. ; cap. ; capt. ; cpt. ; cptn. ; ct.

pronounced captain

3. cd. ; cde. ; cmd. ; cmr. ; cmrd. ; com.

pronounced comrade

4. cit. ; ctz. ; cz. ; czn.

pronounced citizen

5. cnst.

pronounced constellation

6. cr.

can be pronounced comrade or cryptid

7. de.

pronounced done

6. div.

pronounced div, shortened from individual

7. dm.

pronounced dame

8. dr.

pronounced doctor

9. drst.

pronounced dearest

10. em.

pronounced as written

11. en.

can be pronounced enby or entity

12. ent.

pronounced entity

13. eu.

pronounced eunuch

14. fh.

pronounced fellow human

15. fw.

pronounced fellow worker

16. hm.

pronounced human

17. hon.

pronounced on, shortened from honorable

18. hx.

pronounced hex

19. ind.

pronounced as written, shortened from individual

20. inv.

pronounced inevitable

21. jan.

pronounced as written

22. lic.

pronounced licenciature

23. nb.

pronounved en bee, shortened from nonbinary

24. nl.

pronounced null

25. nr.

pronounced nister

26. nx.

can be pronounced nix or nex

27. per. ; pr.

can be pronounced per or person

28. phl.

pronounced philosophe

29. prof.

pronounced professor

30. rab.

pronounced rabbi

31. rev.

pronounced reverand

32. sai.

pronounced sigh

33. san.

pronounced as written

34. ser.

can be pronounced ser or serah

35. sr.

can be pronounced sir or serrah

36. syr.

pronounced as written

37. sys.

pronounced system

38. the.

pronounced as written

39. tr.

can be pronounced ter or teacher

40. vd.

pronounced void

41. vr.

pronounced ver

42. vx.

can be pronounced vix or vex

43. xr.

pronounced xer

44. zr.

can be pronounced zir or zeester

part three: sir? ma'am?

these honorifics are specifically meant to replace the sir/ma'am words. they feel different than the other ones so they get their own part.

1. boss

3. captain

3. chief

4. comrade

5. friend

6. gentile

7. m'ir

8. sa'am

9. sai

10. tiz

11. xir

12. zir

part four: how do you say...

these honorifics are ones i couldnt find pronunciations for... if you know em lmk please & thanks 🫰🏾

1. sn.

thats it, i couldnt find a pronunciation for it but i thought it was cool 🤸🏾

thats all folks

i might update depending on the responses i get and anything else i find :)

last edits: 3 jun 2024