Mina-san, konnichiwa! (皆さん、こんにちは ) Hello everybody!
If you watch Japanese TV or anime (or are paying attention in class) you've probably come across the Japanese word mina-san (皆さん) meaning "everybody".
But what's the difference between mina and minna? What's mina-sama all about? And ... does it actually matter?
１．皆さん Mina-san
Mina means "everybody", and it's commonly used with "-san" (the honorific suffix you put on the end of people's names to be polite).
Mina-san is often used when addressing a group of people, especially when they don't know either other too well or the situation calls for a slightly more formal greeting.
I find myself using mina-san in class a lot, which makes sense - I’m addressing a group of people.
As you might expect, Japanese YouTubers say “mina-san konnichiwa” a lot too ("hi guys!")
These example sentences from jisho.org should give you a good idea of the kinds of situation when mina-san is used:
２．みんな Minna
Also common is minna, which is just a spoken form of mina. Minna is more casual than mina.
Examples from jisho show us that people also use minna when they talk about everyone, as well as when addressing groups:
3. Beware! It’s not みんなさん minna-san
You can't mix them up and use minna-san though. That's incorrect.
Probably no one will mind or notice in a casual situation, but if you're trying to be polite, stick with mina-san. Or you can even go more polite with...
4. 皆様 Mina-sama
In more formal situations, the -san suffix is switched up to the more polite/formal -sama.
Mina-sama functions a lot like "ladies and gentlemen", or “esteemed guests”, and is used in writing, and in announcements:
Why does this matter?
Well really, which word you use is going to depend on the situation.
Mina-sama is super formal and it would sound weird if you use it with your friends. Likewise, minna is pretty casual and might not be appropriate in a business setting.
A lot of gaining fluency in a language is about choosing the right word for the right situation. The more examples you can read, and the more you can expose yourself to the Japanese language, the more these distinctions will start to make sense.
Mina-san, if you'd like to learn more Japanese with me, click here to check out my new online Japanese language courses!
First published 9th June 2017
Updated 7th April 2020
Katakana can be tricky to learn, especially when so many characters look similar! But once you get the hang of it, you’ll start spotting katakana everywhere in Japanese, from food menus to shop signs.
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Learning and remembering all 46 basic katakana characters
Spotting the differences between similar-looking characters
Reading words borrowed from English and other languages
Understanding long vowels and other katakana combinations
Practising reading real-world Japanese words
Who is it for?
This course is ideal for beginners who want to learn katakana in a friendly, supportive environment. Some knowledge of hiragana is helpful, but not essential.
Practical information
Six weekly online lessons via Zoom
Wednesdays at 12pm UK time
Starting Wednesday 3rd March 2027
Taught in English
If you have any questions about the course, get in touch and I’ll be happy to help.