4 ms·
How is "kouhai" used? Is it not the same as hoobae (Korean)?
by smhost 10y ago
How is "kouhai" used? Is it not the same as hoobae (Korean)?
- Kretiini 10y agoI don't know any Korean, but the difference in Japanese is that you (generally) don't address people with kōhai. The younger one usually says '<name>-senpai' or 'senpai', the elder just '<name>'. They're really not that different.
- thaumasiotes 10y ago> The younger one usually says '<name>-senpai' or 'senpai', the elder just '<name>'. Really? I thought use of a bare name was only for intimate relationships.
- jrockway 10y ago<name> here is the family name, which in a language without idiomatic spoken pronouns, is how you talk about people.
- bitwize 10y agoIt could also be <name>-san, <name>-kun, or <name>-chan.
- ekianjo 10y ago> Really? I thought use of a bare name was only for intimate relationships. Not only. Even at work you can refer to your colleagues without the honorific -san in some specific contexts.
- thaumasiotes 10y agoIncluding vocative address?
- ekianjo 10y agoKouhai is not used behind a person's name. And you can usually refer to a senpai just by calling them "senpai" and whoever you are talking to would understand who are refering to. But "kouhai" is never used like what I described above - it's purely an adjective to describe the position of a junior student.