Yeah, it's funny.  I work for a Japanese company and wouldn't even address the president of the company as -sama.

Uh, nobody addresses the company president as "-sama"... you would address him by his title, "Kaichou"

 

Although "-sama" does literally translate as "my lord/lady," its modern context is used when addressing a deity or customer. The word for customer is "kyaku" but the customer is addressed as "okyaku-sama" ("my lord/lady customer"). Anyone who's ever been shopping in Japan will understand this sociolinguistic concept as being very normal.

 

So you'll pretty much only hear people being addressed as "-sama" if they're a customer. All your utility bills will address you as "-sama"

 

Ironically the old title "ki-sama" (your lordship/ladyship) has now come to have the social meaning of "you bastard."

 

"-tachi" is used when pluralising pronouns.

e.g.:

"anata" = "you" (singular) <--> "anata-tachi" = "you" (plural)

"sensei" = "teacher" <--> "sensei-tachi" = "teachers"

"kodomo" = "child" <--> "kodomo-tachi" = "children"

etc.

 

"-kun" has a similar meaning to "-san" but far less honourific.

"-chan" is a "cutesy" version of "-san," based on Japanese "baby-talk."

e.g.: "san" --> "chan", "sou desu" --> "chou dechu" etc

As trench said, these titles are only used when addressing inferiors/subordinates or familiars.

 

btw shouldn't this thread be in the "General Discussion" forum as it bears no immediate relevance to Transformers?

I also heard the suffix  -domo  a few times, it seems degenerative?

 

And from what I understand, Kami-Sama is the word for God(dess)?

"-domo" can also be used when referring to a collective group

e.g.: "ningen" (human) <--> "ningen-domo" (humans)

 

"Kami" means god/goddess/divinity. Hence the word "Kamikaze" ("Divine Wind"). So "Kami-sama" means "Lord God" or "Lady Goddess," although Christians would refer their God as "Shu" ("Lord"), hence "Shu no Inori" ("The Lord's Prayer") etc.

-Dono can also mean "My Lord/Lady", but is a bit archaic.

 

-Bozu or -bouzu technically means "brat", but it's a bit gentler than that, and is probably closer to 'kid'. It's often used by, for example, teenagers referring to much younger students.

-Dono can also mean "My Lord/Lady", but is a bit archaic.

Yes, but we were talking about "-domo" which is not only a totally different word, but also written in different Kanji.

tomo/~domo = ä¾›

tono/~dono　殿

 

Again, these are rather archaic terms and these days only used in anime and religious rites, such as in a Christian mass where the priest may say:

"Shu no heiwa ga arimasu youni" (The peace of the Lord be with you all)

"Mata shisai totomoni" (And also with you)

 

So tomo/~domo basically means "to be one with" someone.

 

e.g.:

Cybertron <--> Autobot

Cybertron-domo <--> Autobots

 

"~dono" on the other hand cannot be used to collectively group or pluralise a noun. As a suffix, it basically works like "~sama".

e.g.: "Megatron-sama," "Megatron-dono"

However it is slightly more versatile than ~sama as it can be used as an unbound morpheme (Tono), e.g.: "Tono!" ("My Lord!")

There lies the main difference between "~sama" and "Tono/~dono"

Thanks for the help, folks.  It sure makes sense now!!

I didn't mean it as an alternate meaning of "domo", but as an alternate word for "my lord"

 

Sorry if I was unclear.