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In _Naruto_ , Yamato called Kakashi as Kakashi- **sama** , whereas Naruto as
Naruto- **kun**.

Previously, I thought that _sama_ was for equal or higher rank shinobis while
_kun_ was for junior rank shinobis. But I noticed that I might be wrong as
Hinata too called Naruto as Naruto- **kun**.

I found some general answers on [Yahoo!
Answers](https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060925163110AAxkqMD),
but is there a specific reason why they did that in _Naruto_? What's the
actual meaning of _sama_ and _kun_?


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2015-06-03T04:26:17.540
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naruto japanese-language
What do "sama" and "kun" mean? Are they related to the shinobi rank?


Both terms are Japanese honorifics.

**_Sama_ (様)** is the formal version of "san", used for persons in higher
positions (inferiors to superiors). On the other hand, **_kun_ (君)** is
informal and mostly used for males, such as boys or juniors. It is used by
superiors to inferiors, by males of the same age and status to each other. In
schools, teachers address male students as "kun" while girls as "san" or
"chan".

As for anime _Naruto_ , Yamato called Kakashi as Kakashi-sama simply because
of respect for the higher position. Kakashi is a lot experienced than him.
Meanwhile, Hinata called Naruto with "kun" as an informal honorific for a boy
with the same age, that applies too for **_kun_**.


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2015-06-03T04:37:02.663
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answer