GrammarJLPT N5
→ Mr
Familiar Title Suffix (Mr. / Ms.)
JLPT N5SuffixCasual spoken
〜くん is a Japanese honorific suffix (敬称) attached to a person's name, most commonly their family name or given name. It is traditionally used to address males of equal or lower social standing, particularly among schoolboys, colleagues, or juniors in a workplace. A male teacher might call male students by their surname plus 〜くん, and a boss might address a younger male employee the same way. In modern usage, 〜くん is also sometimes used for young women, especially in professional settings where a superior addresses a female subordinate. Compared to 〜さん, which is a neutral and broadly polite suffix, 〜くん carries a sense of familiarity and slight informality, and it often implies that the speaker is of equal or higher status than the person being addressed. Compared to 〜ちゃん, which conveys cuteness and affection, 〜くん is somewhat more respectful and less intimate. In the Japanese Diet (parliament), 〜くん is used formally to address all members regardless of gender, which is a special institutional usage. Overall, 〜くん is one of the most common name suffixes learners will encounter in everyday Japanese life.
Examples
Example #1
田中くん、この 問題が わかりますか。
Here a teacher addresses a male student using his family name plus くん. This is one of the most typical uses of くん: a person in a position of authority or seniority calling a younger male by name in a respectful yet familiar way. Using 〜さん in this context would also be correct but would sound slightly more distant.Tanaka, do you understand this problem?
Structures
- Family name
- Family name + くん
- Given name
- Given name + くん
Common mistakes
A common mistake is using くん to address someone of clearly higher status, such as a boss, teacher, or elder, which can sound rude or presumptuous since くん generally flows downward or laterally in social hierarchy. Another frequent error is assuming くん can only be used for males; while it is predominantly male-oriented, it is also used for females in certain settings, so learners should not be confused when they hear it applied to women. Learners sometimes confuse くん with 〜ちゃん, but 〜ちゃん is more affectionate and intimate, while くん is more neutral-familiar. Finally, some learners omit honorific suffixes entirely when speaking Japanese, which can come across as overly blunt or rude unless the relationship specifically warrants 呼び捨て (using a bare name without any suffix).
Related
〜さん〜ちゃん〜さま〜氏（し）呼び捨て