-sama is MUCH more respectful than -san. -san is a form of address used with someone on more or less the same level of social status as you, or at the very least it's simply the default title. -sama is what you use when you respect someone a hell of a lot. To give you an idea of the amount of respect -sama implies, I believe it was used by peasants to refer to daimyo originally. Other titles include -sensei, which is used for people considered to be very educated and/or wise, -dono, which is also very respectful as well as self-abasing (though it isn't used very often anymore, to my knowledge, I've heard it's considered archaic), -kun, which is used for those slightly below you and/or close friends (usually male, though I've seen it used in reference to females), and -chan, which is used to address small children and people you are EXTREMELY close with (though it's generally not a good idea to address them as -chan when in public; it's kind of a pet name type of thing).
-sama denotes a high level of respect and to some degree a measure of your own submission. In the subbed anime I like to watch, -sama is commonly used to denote someone's boss or liege lord or someone they're brown-nosing.
-san does connote respect but it is as for an equal or someone of lower rank whom you nonetheless are showing respect and courtesy to. If you were to use -san to a superior without permission, however, that would be extremely insulting.
Someone who is your boss or several-levels-up boss at work but your very good friend off-duty would be -sama whenever it was work-related but -san whenever it's social.
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"R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-16 09:22 pm (UTC)Re: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-16 09:33 pm (UTC)Re: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-16 09:34 pm (UTC)Re: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-16 09:39 pm (UTC)Re: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-17 01:07 am (UTC)A.
never mind me
Re: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-17 03:20 pm (UTC)Ummm... Errr...
*runs away and hides under a mountain of pillows in abject embarassment*
Re: "R-E-S-P-E-C-T..."
Date: 2003-09-18 03:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-16 09:29 pm (UTC)-sama is FAR more formal. It's used with keigo, and is often used towards customers, but normally without their name.
In general situations you don't use it.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-09-17 01:32 pm (UTC)-san does connote respect but it is as for an equal or someone of lower rank whom you nonetheless are showing respect and courtesy to. If you were to use -san to a superior without permission, however, that would be extremely insulting.
Someone who is your boss or several-levels-up boss at work but your very good friend off-duty would be -sama whenever it was work-related but -san whenever it's social.