Quote:
Originally Posted by Pell14
I might be going to kyoto to take some entrance examination next year, is there any particular things i should look out for?
In schools, does students really address their seniors as xxx-senpai? Well we dont usually address our seniors as "senior" isnt it? Is it too formal to address new classmate by "family-name"-san? Or should i address them by their "given-name"-san right away?
well being too formal, this 慇懃無礼 term comes in right? (well i guess since im not excalty using keigo, this wouldnt be the case right?) ok this is getting really lame, i seriously keep to brush up my language and conversation.
Oh yeah the other thing is that, my language teacher keep emphasize on me that i shouldnt use ore. is that really that rude?
|
Yes, you really
do address senior students as senpai.
And yes, you normally address someone you met for the first time, or someone you're not too familiar with yet, by their last name + san if they are older than you, or if they are female. However, in school, peers can just call each other by family names without suffix even when they are strangers, as long
as they are the same grade. Do not address someone older or senior to you by just their name. Always put senpai or san after it.
Japan is, even in this modern day and age, very formal and mannerism towards elders/superiors are very much practiced and encouraged. It's nowhere near as "frank" as the way Americans treat strangers. There are exceptions and very frank people in Japan too, but they are not the norm or the standard. So be careful and play safe and be formal, rather than risking to be frowned upon.
Your overall speech does not need to be overly formal. But addressing of someone is diffrent story.
And lastly, "ore" is not rude to use if you're in school. Don't worry about it.
You only need to worry about that when you get to work in corporations, and it depends on your boss.