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I don't know Japanese but from watching anime I remember the word (?)
"taisan". I am also not a native English speaker so I'm not sure if I've
correctly written how the word sounds. Google translate gave me this "退散"
which seems to sound right.

So, anyway, I was thinking if that word sounds like "taisan" how would a
Japanese person differentiate between it and calling a human, named "Tai",
"mister", i.e. "tai-san"?
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2020-06-13T12:06:13.800
77986
2020-06-23T03:54:12.833
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question
japanese-to-english
Confusing words that sound like a name and a suffix
As is the case with a lot of Japanese, contextual clues matter. In this case,
what you will find is that the context surrounding the situation is especially
important.

In this case, [退散](https://jisho.org/word/%E9%80%80%E6%95%A3) is actually a
verb (when followed by suru). So any use of the word taisan in relation to an
action is certainly referring to this use.

タイさん when used as a name is a noun. I don't know that I have ever heard of any
Japanese person with the name Tai or Ty, but you do see that fairly commonly
in English (nickname for Tyler). In writing, you'll see this written as I have
here. I feel it's safe to say that when you see taisan used as a noun, it will
be pretty clear as well.

As is the case with a lot of Japanese, context is a major portion of
understanding what's going on.
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2020-06-13T12:42:23.403
77987
2020-06-13T12:42:23.403
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It 's like I was surprised to hear British English speaker said "Going to the
John" and he went to the bathroom for the first time (i.e. he did not go to
see the person called "John").

Probably the closing word "退散{たいさん}" tends to be more "clear-cut" than calling
person's name たいさん which could be more elongated sound so that たいさん could hear
if they are far away to the speaker(ex echo from the mountain).

Is it difficult to distinguish "calling person's name" and "closing word" in
your anime? I hope there is some strategy to distinguish homophone in your
native tongue.
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2020-06-13T12:45:47.017
77988
2020-06-13T13:24:21.133
2020-06-13T13:24:21.133
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> how would a Japanese person differentiate between it and calling a human,
> named "Tai", "mister", i.e. "tai-san"?

These are different in pitch accent.

退散 is pronounced [たいさん]{LHHH} and たいさん as a name and an honorific suffix (eg
田井さん = Mr/Ms Tai), [たいさん]{HLLL}.

{{pad}} Similar examples:  
解散 [かいさん]{LHHH} ・ 甲斐さん [かいさん]{HLLL}  
研鑽 [けんさん]{LHHH} ・ 健さん [けんさん]{HLLL}  
減産 [げんさん]{LHHH} ・ 玄さん [げんさん]{HLLL}  
閑散/換算 [かんさん]{LHHH} ・ 菅さん [かんさん]{HLLL}  
拡散/核酸 [かくさん]{LHHH} ・ 格さん [かくさん]{HLLL}  
計算 [けいさん]{LHHH} ・ 圭さん [けいさん]{HLLL}  
晩餐 [ばんさん]{LHHH} ・ 伴さん [ばんさん]{HLLL}  
量産 [りょうさん]{LLHHH} ・ 両さん [りょうさん]{HHLLL}  
倒産 [とうさん]{LHHH} ・ 父さん [とうさん]{HLLL} ← father  
増産 [ぞうさん]{LHHH} ・ 象さん [ぞうさん]{HLLL} ← elephant
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2020-06-13T13:02:02.447
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2020-06-23T03:54:12.833
2020-06-23T03:54:12.833
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answer