Are there rules on making a shortened name plus honorific?

[Dylonius Funk]

Something i've noticed is that sometimes a character in a show or book will call another character by a shortened version of thier name, like a nickname. It's usually "part of the name+appropriate honorific". For example a few i've nopticed are
1. In Excel Saga, Excel calls Hyatte "Hatchan"
2.The Neon Genesis Evangelion manga has Misato calling Shinji "Shin-Chan"
3.Kyoko in FMP sometime calls Kaname "Kana-Chan"
What i was wondering is if there are any actual language rules on how to make a shortened nickname like this, or if it''s just done fast and casually. For example, we have a home aide who takes care of my dad named Delta. When i was taking a Japanese classs a few weeks ago, i would drill vocab by saying good morning and goodbye to her in japanese. I got in the habit of calling her Delta-Chan. Finally i just shortened it down to Del-Chan. I wasn't sure if that was the right way to do it, but from what i'd seen, there wasn't any real right or wrong way.

[ayumu]

There's no rule for it; it's just whatever sounds cute. Generally, I guess, you leave off the the end of the name and replace it with chan. In the case of the part that's left being only one syllable, a "tsu" is added, which is what gives you things like Natchan or Mitchan. You can also add other repetitous sounds (Haruka -> Haruru; Norio -> Noririn) etc etc. My name is Denise and one of my coworkers calls me "Deni-chan." /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

Technically, in your case with Delta, it would turn into "Deru-chan" because of Japanese pronunciation, but that's just splitting hairs.

[badasscat]

It's usually (but not always) the first syllable of a name plus the honorific. One of my wife's friends' name is Ritsuko and everybody calls her Ri-chan. My wife goes by Ma-chan or Ma-bo (or Ma-bu).

Depends on the name, though, but that's it more often than not.

(It really, I think, is more what's easiest to say... if a girl's name is Yuko or something, "Yuko-chan" just rolls off the tongue more easily than "Yu-chan" would.)

[Eishagishi]

Another example. My Japanese professor's given name is Sachie. Her friends call her Satchan.

[quenelf]

More complicated ways to make nicknames are used too - in anime, if not real life /images/graemlins/happy.gif

I can't remember exactly what it is but iirc, in 'Animation Runner Kuromi-chan' her name isn't 'kuromi' at all - they arbitrarily pick two characters from the middle of her actual name which are normally read 'kuro' and 'mi' (even though at least the 'kuro' one wasn't kuro in her actual name) and use those, there's a little animation showing it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

No idea if that particular type of thing happens in real life - but some people get pretty weird nicknames in English too.

--quen

[ QUOTE ]
quen said:
I can't remember exactly what it is but iirc, in 'Animation Runner Kuromi-chan' her name isn't 'kuromi' at all - they arbitrarily pick two characters from the middle of her actual name which are normally read 'kuro' and 'mi' (even though at least the 'kuro' one wasn't kuro in her actual name) and use those, there's a little animation showing it. /images/graemlins/happy.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

Her name is Oguro Mikiko. They take the ending of her family name ("kuro") and the start of her given name ("mi") and put together.

[quenelf]

[ QUOTE ]
Thomas Bellman said:
Her name is Oguro Mikiko. They take the ending of her family name ("kuro") and the start of her given name ("mi") and put together.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, okay. So it *was* the same reading- but still, taking two characters from the middle of the name, crossing the boundary between family/given names, is pretty weird!

I'd like to know if that kind of nickname is ever used in real life, or if it is purely a gag for that show. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

--quen

[Pfil]

[ QUOTE ]
quen said:
Ah, okay. So it *was* the same reading- but still, taking two characters from the middle of the name, crossing the boundary between family/given names, is pretty weird!

I'd like to know if that kind of nickname is ever used in real life, or if it is purely a gag for that show. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

--quen

[/ QUOTE ]
Watanabe Shinichi -> Nabeshin. Actually that might be where they got the idea for Kuromi? (Wild guess...)

BTW, Kuromi basically translates to Black Beauty. Heh.

[monika]

Also, Ikuhara Kunihiko -> Ikuni. I'm not sure how that works character-wise, and I *think* the characters in his name correspond to "Iku" and "Kuni". (幾原　邦彦 if anyone who knows what they're talking about wants to figure it out.)

Then again, Nabeshin and Ikuni aren't exactly prime examples of normal people.

[quenelf]

[ QUOTE ]
monika said:
Then again, Nabeshin and Ikuni aren't exactly prime examples of normal people.

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/happy.gif Still, it's two examples of something similar. Thanks people, that satisfies my curiosity somewhat. /images/graemlins/happy.gif

--quen