Family words
This is a Quick Japanese Vocabulary Chart demonstrating humble and exalted forms of family words for those serious in making Japanese their SL2.
Humble –when speaking of ones own, of oneself Exalted
Father chichi O-to^san (^ denotes long o)
Mother hahao O-ka^san (long a)
Older Brother ani O-ni^san (long i)
Younger Brother ototo O-totosan
Older Sister ane O-nesan
Younger Sister imoto imotosan
Parents ryo^shin (long o) Go-ryo^shin (long o)Husband shujin (lit. my lord) Go-shujin
Wife kanai okusama, or okusan
sama versus san - san is less exalted but still polite and most commonly used as with any word in column on the right. San can be exchanged for sama in any case and is dependant on how polite you choose to speak. Don't over do it. A Japanese person will always win a verbal joust to see who can be more humble and exalt another.
Ganbatte ne! Do your best!
Makurasuki Sensei
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