Use of "san"
Now I meet people, some older and some younger than me from Japan.

How do I address them?

Can I use san after the name of an older person or is it restricted to younger people than me only?
Also, is it polite to call Japanese people by their first name or should we stick with their last name?

Please advise!

Question

Use of "san"
Now I meet people, some older and some younger than me from Japan.

How do I address them?

Can I use san after the name of an older person or is it restricted to younger people than me only?
Also, is it polite to call Japanese people by their first name or should we stick with their last name?

Please advise!

Answer

you can use "san" to everyone whether they are older or younger.　It is polite expression.

Basically,at first you should call them their last name, especially for older people than you.
but after you get to know each other and become close friends, you can call them first name I think. 
Also, it is also good to ask them what you should call them. They will give you their favorite.

In my opinion, Japanese people who go to abroad want to make friends with people in the country, and they wanna be called first name :)

Answers · 1

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