Glossary
Honorifics
Honorifics are words added to names or used instead of them to show respect, closeness or rank, such as -san, -kun and senpai in Japanese or hyung and noona in Korean. They have no direct English equivalent, which makes them one of the classic problems in translating manga and manhwa.
Common Japanese honorifics
- -san: polite and neutral, for most adults.
- -kun: for boys and younger men, or juniors at work.
- -chan: affectionate, for children, close friends and pets.
- -sama: very respectful, for customers, gods or someone far above you.
- Senpai and kōhai: someone senior or junior to you at school or work.
- Sensei: teachers, doctors and manga artists.
Common Korean forms of address
- Hyung and oppa: older brother, used by younger men and women for older men.
- Noona and unnie: older sister, used by younger men and women for older women.
- -ssi: polite, roughly like -san.
- Sunbae and hoobae: senior and junior, like senpai and kōhai.
Why they are hard to translate
Honorifics carry relationships, not just meaning. Switching from -san to -chan, or dropping an honorific, can show that two characters have grown close or that someone is being rude. English has Mr. and Ms., but nothing that changes this often or this finely. Translators either keep the honorific, replace it with a name or a word like sir, or drop it and show the tone another way.
How RuneManga handles them
RuneLingua, RuneManga's translator, was built for manga and manhwa dialogue, which includes forms of address. Each line is translated on its own, so the same honorific can be kept on one page and rendered differently on the next. If a relationship between characters matters, compare the original with Original and Result.
Common problems and fixes
- A name loses its honorific: the translation chose an English form of the line. Check the original if the tone matters.
- Senpai becomes upperclassman on one page and stays senpai on another: each line is translated on its own.
- A character seems rude: the original may use a casual form on purpose. That is part of the story, not always a mistake.
Does RuneManga keep honorifics like -san?
Sometimes. Each line is translated on its own, so an honorific can be kept, replaced or dropped.
What does senpai mean?
Someone senior to you at school or work. It shows respect and a relationship of experience.