What's the Difference Between Mina and Minna (And Why Does It Matter Anyway?)
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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
Like many people in the UK, I studied French in school. I liked French. I thought it was really fun to speak another language, to talk with people, and to try and listen to what was going on in a new country. (Still do!)
When I was 14 we went on a school exchange to the city of Reims, in northeastern France. I was paired with a boy, which I’m sure some 14-year-olds would find very exciting but which I found unbearably awkward. He was very sweet and we completely ignored each other.
That was nearly 20 years ago, and I didn’t learn or use any more French until, at some point in lockdown, I decided on a whim to take some one-to-one lessons with online teachers. Here are some things I learned about French, about language learning, and about myself.