other N4 common politewritten

様 — honorific title suffix (Mr/Ms, very polite)

様さま

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Meaning

very polite honorific suffix — for customers, letters, and anyone you want to show strong respect to; the elevated form of さん

Key sentence

山田やまだ様さま、お待またせいたしました。

Mr. Yamada, thank you for waiting.

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
A person's name, title, or certain nouns	Name / Noun + 様	お客きゃく様さま / 神かみ様さま

When: Customer service, formal letters and envelopes, and respectful or ceremonial contexts. Too stiff for ordinary peer conversation, where さん is normal.

Examples

ご来店らいてんのお客きゃく様さまにお知しらせします。

An announcement for our visiting customers.

封筒ふうとうの宛名あてなは「鈴木すずき様さま」と書かいてください。

Please address the envelope to 'Suzuki-sama.'

Easily confused with

さんさん is the everyday neutral-polite suffix. 様 is markedly more deferential — standard for customers and formal writing, but over-formal between friends or colleagues of equal rank. 〜方様 honors an individual; to make a respected group plural you use 方 (お客きゃく様さま方がた 'esteemed customers') or pair them as 〜様方.

See 様 in real sentences

Jengo shows 様 the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Editorial confidence: medium.

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