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In Naruto, Yamato called Kakashi as Kakashi-sama, whereas Naruto as Naruto-kun.

Previously, I thought that sama was for equal or higher rank shinobis while kun was for junior rank shinobis. But I noticed that I might be wrong as Hinata too called Naruto as Naruto-kun.

I found some general answers on Yahoo! Answers, but is there a specific reason why they did that in Naruto? What's the actual meaning of sama and kun?

Aki Tanaka
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Kunal
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    It's the same in anime as it is in real life. Anime generally is Japanese so some translators will keep Japanese Honorifics when doing subtitles of dubs, such as sometimes when Iruka or Kakahi gets called by their students as Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei. the [Wikipedia link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_honorifics) in the question you linked to is as good of a resource i use – Memor-X Jun 03 '15 at 04:34
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    Yamato calls Kakashi as Kakashi-senpai, I have never once heard him say Kakashi-sama. – Masked Man Jun 03 '15 at 16:15
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    That aside, there is nothing specific to anime to be explained here. Since anime is in Japanese, it naturally uses the Japanese honorifics (unless, of course, the "plot" specifically requires it to not do so). – Masked Man Jun 03 '15 at 16:16
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    See also: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/JapaneseHonorifics?from=Main.JapaneseHonorifics – Masked Man Jun 03 '15 at 16:17
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    Nothing about this question is specific to anime/manga/Naruto. This has been already answered on the Japanese Language SE where it is on-topic & users have explained the various usages. Rather than a trope, this is simply a Japanese language question. Sama: [1](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5172/openings-and-closings-salutations-and-valedictions-when-writing-a-letter-e-mai/5173#5173), [2](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/1622/when-is-a-person-referred-to-with-%E6%A7%98-in-the-mass-media-and-what-does-it-signify) – seijitsu Jun 03 '15 at 21:50
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    [3](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/4349/what-is-the-etymology-of-the-term-%E4%BB%8F%E3%81%BB%E3%81%A8%E3%81%91%E6%A7%98%E3%81%95%E3%81%BE), [4](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5723/%E6%A7%98-vs-%E6%AE%BF-which-is-more-respectful), [5](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/24267/can-a-man-address-a-woman-with-sama-%E6%A7%98-%E3%81%95%E3%81%BE), [6](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/18787/proper-answer-to-%E4%BD%95%E5%90%8D%E6%A7%98%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%81%8B) – seijitsu Jun 03 '15 at 21:50
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    [7](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/17649/%E3%81%A9%E3%81%A1%E3%82%89%E6%A7%98%E3%81%A7%E3%81%97%E3%81%9F%E3%81%8B-why-past-form), [8](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/11158/difference-between-the-many-words-for-son-and-daughter/11172#11172), [9](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/2482/what-does-%E6%B0%8F-mean-after-a-name-how-is-it-different-from-%E3%81%95%E3%82%93-or-%E6%A7%98). Kun: [1](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/23103/is-there-a-less-formal-way-to-say-%E3%81%82%E3%81%AA%E3%81%9F/23107#23107) – seijitsu Jun 03 '15 at 21:50
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    [2](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/19130/how-did-the-originally-honorific-forms-of-address-%E5%90%9B-%E3%81%8A%E5%89%8D-%E8%B2%B4%E6%A7%98-become-informal-or-eve), [3](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/13755/is-%E5%90%9B-%E3%81%8D%E3%81%BF-obsolete-as-a-way-to-call-your-romantic-partner), [4](http://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/21744/persons-name-%E5%90%9B%E3%81%AE%E4%BA%8B/21750#21750) – seijitsu Jun 03 '15 at 21:51
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it belongs on another site in the Stack Exchange network and has already been answered there. – seijitsu Jun 03 '15 at 21:52
  • @seijitsu - Firstly, I heard these words in Naruto, so this was the place where I could ask this and I already mentioned in the question that please answer in respect to the anime, just because I somehow googled it but was confused because of what they spoke in anime. – Kunal Jun 04 '15 at 04:08
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    This SE is a good place to ask questions about Japanese words/phrases that originate in anime/manga, such as [this](http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21427/why-do-the-subtitles-say-tetsusaiga-for-tessaiga), or about terms coined within anime/manga subculture, such as [this](http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/894/what-does-moe-mean), but if a question is about standard Japanese, the [Japanese Language SE](http://japanese.stackexchange.com) is a great place to get a speedy answer. You can sign up for various SE accounts and link them into one username. – seijitsu Jun 04 '15 at 04:46
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    @seijitsu Well it is a fine line whether some language/cultural questions are on-topic as can be read at [this meta post](http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/q/610/6166). To me it seems that this question is more on-topic here than over at the JL SE, because he is specifically asking for the reason why Yamato and Hinata speak the way they do, which would not be answerable over at the JL SE. – Peter Raeves Jun 04 '15 at 16:27
  • @Peter Raeves, yes, I agree that an alternate question, such as "Why do Yamato and Hinata speak formally?" or "Why do Yamato and Hina address characters differently than other characters address those characters?" (which would be about their personality), would be on-topic here, as compared to "what's the actual meaning of Sama and Kun?", which is a language question that does not innately relate to an anime/manga series. The meta link advises, “Culture questions need to be directly related to anime/manga. If a question about Japanese culture still makes sense removing all references to . . ." – seijitsu Jun 04 '15 at 23:14
  • “. . . anime/manga, then it's off topic,” and "if the same question could be asked without making any reference to an anime, and the answers would be the same, then it's not really an anime question." Name me's answer below was able to answer the question without saying anything unique about Yamato or Hinata, saying that they are using normal Japanese according to standard usage. – seijitsu Jun 04 '15 at 23:14

1 Answers1

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Both terms are Japanese honorifics.

Sama (様) is the formal version of "san", used for persons in higher positions (inferiors to superiors). On the other hand, kun (君) is informal and mostly used for males, such as boys or juniors. It is used by superiors to inferiors, by males of the same age and status to each other. In schools, teachers address male students as "kun" while girls as "san" or "chan".

As for anime Naruto, Yamato called Kakashi as Kakashi-sama simply because of respect for the higher position. Kakashi is a lot experienced than him. Meanwhile, Hinata called Naruto with "kun" as an informal honorific for a boy with the same age, that applies too for kun.

Aki Tanaka
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name me
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