Is Nat-Chan a girl's name or noun?
In case the latter is right, what does it mean?
I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
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"Nat" is a nickname (short for Natsuko), the suffix -chan roughly means "friend". For example, it's rather informal to use this suffix with people you don't know well, so I think that's why Nat-chan is kind of surprised/angry when Seiji Hayami calls her "Nat-Chan" pretty early on.
shareThank you very much wjgl-chan.
Have you enjoyed this movie as much as I have?
I wanted to be the first kid on my block to get a confirmed kill.
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I really enjoyed this movie, yes. I've watched it three times in two days so, yeah, I kinda like it ^_^;
I hope there's a sequel.
By the way, it's funny that her name is Aki Natsuko - even her last name is a name of a season.
It would be wrong to call 'wjgl' 'wjgl-chan', it's used for emphasizing how cute or endearing (or even childish) someone is, as it's originally and usually mostly used for small kids.
This is why 'onii-chan' is weird and endearing, because it over-emphasizes, as in 'SUPER-underlines' the sister's affection for her brother - although he's older, she still uses the 'chan', which is SO wrong in so many levels, but no one will say anything, because it's someone cute and clueless saying it for understandably emotional and family-loving reasons.
I don't think western people realize how weird it would really be to call someone older a 'chan', and why it's used EXACTLY for that reason so much in anime, to bring a punch to an interaction that sort of emotionally confuses the viewer while endearing them towards the character at the same time.
Japanese honorifics are a big 'woosh' moment for western viewers, as each honorific serves a VERY specific purpose, so they can be MIS-USED very powerfully. No one should call a police officer 'chan' any more than anyone should call an older, especially BROTHER (or any male) a 'chan', as it's meant for small kids and 'extremely cute girls' and other cute things.
Don't even get me started on 'kun' and 'sama' - western people might think that because 'sama' is the highest honorific there is, they should always use it for maximum respect.
DON'T.
In any case, 'kun' referes purely to males, especially boys - you don't call someone 'higher than you' 'kun', but it's still a friendly honorific, sort of casual one. This is also used for girls sometimes exactly because it's not supposed to be, as it's for 'boys only'. It's for this 'breaking the mold'-type impact that girls and women often use the word 'ore' to refer to themselves.
You have to know the cultural meanings and impacts to use honorifics correctly.
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That's a bit wrong.
There's no 'Nat' in japanese, as japanese words can _NOT_ end in 'T'.
It's not 'Nat-chan', it's 'Nacchan'.
Natsu means 'summer', 'Ko' means girl or child, and 'chan' is not a SUFFIX, it's a HONORIFIC.
Japanese language has many honorifics, most common being 'san'.
These are used when you are talking to strangers or people you want to show respect to, they're not usually used for family, friends and such, unless you want to emphasize that someone is something.
'San' is used for pretty much anyone, 'chan' is used for children, girls and 'cute things', it's supposed to be 'endearing', but depending on the context, it can even be insulting, and at least annoying. Using this for an adult official shows either disrespect or lack of respect, people wouldn't normally use this for authorities, or it they can be in big trouble.
The whole thing where the guy just calls her 'chan', is irritating to her, and destroys her 'credibility' right off the bat, as no one would use that kind of 'endearing' word for a police officer they are afraid of or respect.
No pun intended, but it's like calling a male cop 'honey' - it's not directly insulting, but it shows that the police failed to make any kind of authority-based impression on the speaker.
Seasonal names are common in japanese language, for example, 'Akiko' or 'Natsuko' - there are variations, like 'Natsumi'. 'Natsu' (summer)-based names are generally nicknamed something like 'Nacchi' or 'Nacchan', just like 'Atsuko' would become 'Acchan' easily, when you want to use an 'endearing term'.
This kind of nicknaming sort of integrates the 'chan' into the nickname, so it's unclear whether it even is a honorific anymore, or just an 'endearing nickname'.
'Chan' DEFINITELY does not mean FRIEND. You need more work in your japanese cultural studies.
She's not angry about it, she is annoyed and frustrated that her painstakingly built and superficially acted professional authority-based image is shattered.
It's also basically incredibly disrespectful to not ONLY call a stranger 'chan', but to use it for a police officer and to their face.
There's also the added complexity of Natsuko trying to be as professional and 'tough' as possible, never smiling, always dressing 'properly', always holding her hands in that protective pose, even when walking, and then someone suddenly basically calling her CUTE (though indirectly by the usage of the 'chan'-honorific).
At the same time, it's not JUST 'chan', it's also not using her actual, professional name at all, but bypassing it for a NICKNAME. This much even western people can surely understand,
As you can see, there are MULTIPLE LEVELS working here simultaneously, and they're deeply entrenched in japanese culture, so no simple explanation will suffice, and yours was certainly wrong.