The rules of Japanese nicknaming

I wrote about how creative you can be in choosing, or rather creating, a Japanese first name in my earlier article, and today I want to tell you how creative you can be in coming up with Japanese nicknames.

I know that there are many clever ways to come up with nicknames in the world, but I think that Japanese nicknaming is the most creative and fun! Here are some examples of how to do it.

Shortening the given name

This is simple and similar to the Western way.

It works like Dan for Daniel and Beth for Elizabeth. Nobuyuki (male) can become “Nobu” and Haruna (female) can become “Haru.”

There are so many female names that end with “-ko” (although the popularity is significantly dropping lately) and so very often the “-ko” is removed. For example, Kumiko is often affectionately shortened to “Kumi.”

Adding a suffix to the given name

The Japanese language is incredibly rich with suffixes, and there are a lot of different kinds of suffixes you can use for nicknaming, from cute ones to funny and strange ones.

And you can even create one on your own!

Kun

“-kun” is an honorific. It’s mainly used for boys and male friends, when addressing a male who is younger than you are or the same age as you are.

So often, Japanese suffixes are attached to the shortened given name. For example, Masato often becomes “Ma-kun” and Teruo can turn into “Teru-kun.”

Chan

“-chan” is a very endearing honorific. This is the female version of “-kun” and most frequently used for young girls and children but you can use “-chan” for men and adults as well.

Naoko (female) often goes by “Nao-chan” and Shinji (male) can become “Shin-chan.”

Tan

This is a very affectionate and cuter form of “-chan” used for cute babies and children, but it’s sometimes used for adults, too. Meiko (female) can become “Mei-tan” and Koichi (male) can become “Ko-tan.” Very sweet!

Rin

This is another cuter form of “-chan” that sounds sweet and funny.

Kaori (female) often becomes “Kao-rin” and Mako (female) can turn into “Mako-rin.”

For some mysterious reason, Mika (female) almost always turns into “Mika-rin.” I wonder why…?

Using the surname

Japanese people, both men and women, use their surname as a nickname much more often than the Westerners do.

It’s probably because surname is honored more in Japan than in the West. In Japan the surname is often shortened, too and a suffix is attached to it, like “Yama-chan” for Yamamoto. A lot of suffixes are used for surnames, including the above mentioned “-kun” and “-tan.”

Combining the surname and given name

Can you believe that many Japanese people combine a part of their surname and a part of their given name to create a nickname?

You almost never see this in the West. I think this is probably the most unique thing about nicknaming in Japan.

For example, the popular actor Kimura Takuya is affectionately called “Kimu-Taku” in Japan. (In Japanese the surname comes before the given name.)

And most of the men who are named Kato Kenji or Kato Kenichi go by “Kato-Ken” because it sounds so good. This combining method only works if it sounds good in Japanese.

Now, I hope you have some idea of how fun creating a Japanese nickname can be!

There are actually countless different ways to create Japanese nicknames, including playing on words which you’d need to speak the Japanese language to understand, so the rules of Japanese nicknaming I’ve introduced here are only a few examples among so many.