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When addressing John Doe, would you say "John-さん", or "Doe-さん"?

Does it depend on how polite or formal you're being? Does it also depend on
whether the person is a nihonjin, a kankokujin (who have their family name
first, not last), or a westerner?
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2012-04-28T09:43:09.777
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2019-02-20T05:13:14.480
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politeness culture names
Address someone by their first name, or their last name?
As for my experience I'd say first name + san is less formal and last name +
san is more formal and usually used for ソト people.
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2012-04-28T09:52:39.147
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2012-04-28T09:52:39.147
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In general, Japanese people will address people by their last name if they are
anything but good friends.

So that would be the tendency would be Doeさん.

However when it comes to western people 2 things come into play.

1) Your name might be difficult to say.

2) They might know our custom is to use first names more often.

When I was in Japan and dealing with people I would see fairly often, they
would generally ask me what I wanted to be called. I always said my first name
because that is how I see myself and because my last name is impossible for
Japanese people say correctly.
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2012-04-28T17:32:33.390
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2012-04-29T03:36:58.380
2012-04-29T03:36:58.380
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As others have pointed out, it's usually a context based system.

If it's a formal situation, and you want/need to show some respect (maybe
you're having dinner with your boss), then it would normally be (family
name)+title (probably さま or their division title).

In an informal situation or with friends, I've found that it's acceptable to
use (given name)+title (probably さん, くん, or せんぱい). Sometimes, you might even
be able to drop the title part. Always ask first though as some people, even
in informal situations prefer their family name and a title.

I've found in schools (I don't know about college/university, however), that
teachers will often refer to their students in (given name)+title format. In
this case, the title would usually be くん (but not always). I've no idea
whether this is to foster a slightly laid back situation, or whether this is
down to the possibility of there being multiple students with the same family
name in the same class, though.

Side story: I found, while studying Japanese at university, that some Japanese
teachers in the UK prefer the (given name)+さん approach to be very useful.
Probably for the same reason as the teachers in Japanese schools.
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2012-04-30T07:38:28.480
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