letter S; letter s
The letter itself, as in the alphabet.
アルファベットのＳは、エスと読む。
The letter S in the alphabet is read as 'esu'.
Abbreviation for south, used in maps, directions, or compass points.
地図のＳは南を示す。
The S on the map indicates south.
Shōwa year
Prefix indicating a year in the Shōwa era (1926–1989); e.g., Ｓ60 means Shōwa 60 (1985).
See also: 昭和
Ｓ６０年は１９８５年です。
S60 corresponds to 1985.
Abbreviation for 'small', used in clothing sizes (S size) and similar contexts.
このＴシャツのＳサイズをください。
Please give me this T-shirt in size S.
Abbreviation for 'subject' in grammatical notation; often seen as S in SOV (subject-object-verb).
See also: 主語
日本語の基本語順はＳＯＶです。
The basic word order of Japanese is SOV.
Abbreviation for 'sadist' or 'sadistic', often used in contrast with M (masochist).
See also: Ｍ
彼はちょっとＳが入っている。
He has a bit of a sadistic side.
Slang term for the female partner in a lesbian relationship, from 'sister'.
彼女は私のＳです。
She is my sister (female partner).
S rank; top grade
Highest rank on a scale (S, A, B, C...), above A; common in games and evaluations. Possibly from スーパー or スペシャル.
このキャラはＳランクだ。
This character is S rank.
This sweater only comes in size S.
He's an 'S,' so he says mean things on purpose.
It's hard to get an S rank on this test.
My father was born in Shōwa 40 (1965).
主語 is the full Japanese grammatical term for 'subject', while Ｓ is the shorthand symbol used in sentence-pattern notation like SOV.
Ｓ (sadistic) and Ｍ (masochistic) are the standard paired opposites used to describe personality types in relationships.
Ｓ (small) and Ｌ (large) are opposite ends of the clothing-size scale.
Ｓ (south) and 北 (north) are opposite compass directions, though 北 is written in full rather than abbreviated.
Ｓ marks a small clothing size, the opposite end of the sizing scale from ＸＬ (extra-large).
Full-width uppercase S; standard representation in Japanese text.
Full-width lowercase s; less common but still used.
The reading エス is a direct loan from English 'S'. The various meanings are abbreviations or initialisms derived from English words (south, sulfur, small, second, subject, sadist, sister, special/super).